Season 1 - Missing Scenes
by SandyKirsten
Summary: ***Chapter 18 - Extended Families is up! UPDATED&***Tami and Eric - What we didn't see - Missing scenes between Tami and Eric throughout the first season of Friday Night Lights.
1. The Pilot

_**Disclaimer: All italics are Peter Berg's words and/or flashbacks. I own nothing!**_

Season 1 – Episode #1

 **The Pilot**

He came into the house with purpose. She was sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through the paper, trying to find something interesting about this town other than football. She made the mistake of turning on the radio, hearing her husband's name at least a dozen times before she turned it off. She was intrigued at first, assuming people would say wonderful things about him, things she already knew about him. Sadly, that was not the case and she was feeling her insides burn red hot flames of anger. She thought it might be best to read the paper instead.

He hung up his jacket, walked down the hall, frustrated running his hands through his hair as he lifted his cap. "Do you know there is a news crew following me? Like, I have something earth shattering to say?"

"I heard on the radio that a news crew was following you." She smiled softly, sympathy sparkling in her eyes.

"This better die down a bit. I can't work like this." He leaned down and placed a kiss on her head.

Tami wasn't sure if what she was about to say was true, but he needed her to be on his side. "It's just the hype of the first game. It will get better once the season gets started." 

He gave her a questioning look. "Really?" He wished she was right. She usually was. 

"Probably not!" She chuckled.

\- 

The next day Tami made her way to the school, not happy with the information she just heard from some of the women at the grocery store. If it wasn't for the gossipy women, she would be left in the dark leaches

.

She found him watching game tape, studying the television. She made her way over to his side of the desk, wanting to get as much attention from him as possible when there was a television in the room. 

_"So I heard an ugly rumor." Tami said nothing further, making sure that he responds so she knows he's listening._ _  
_

___Eric leans back in his chair, looking her in the eyes, trying to gauge the level of anger she is measuring at right now. Then his mind drifted of what exact rumor she is referring to. Could it be? Had she heard about the cheerleading coach already? The assistant coaches had been teasing him all week about that woman's flirtatious attempts to make eye contact with him._

 __

 _He held her stare. "Really?" This town was almost too small, even for him._

 __

 _"Had to do with you and me and a certain car dealership opening up tomorrow night?" She questioned, watching realization spread across his face. That and a little bit of relief. What was that about, she thought._

 __

 _"Ahhhh." He played with his hat, a habit that never broke, and runs a hand over his face. He throws his head back, showing that he is mad at himself and admitting defeat. "Shoot!"_

 __

 _"Did you forget to tell me?"_

 __

 _"I think that I did forget to tell you." He said apologetically._

 __  
She couldn't let him get away with this type of thing again. She knew he expected her to accompany him anywhere and that meant her presence at the dealership tomorrow. She made a familiar comment about Alaska and how living there, away from the craziness, would be a good option for an easier way of life. In the past, she had threatened her next move would be there if he kept doing these types of things. Unfortunately this was not his first offense. Things slipped his mind all the time. He liked to blame it on stress of his job. She liked to tease him and blame it on the brain cells he killed from smoking pot in high school and college. Although an athlete, he did have a bad boy streak.

She stroked his cheek letting him know she's not really mad. As she comes around to hug him from behind, she can feel the tense muscles in his shoulders, wondering if football will ever not be his number one priority.

-

At home that night, Tami was reading the paper again. This time she was looking at homes for sale. Eric, from his recliner, starts hearing her talk about some property with his and her closets. He's concentrating on the game tape playing but pulls his eyes away to look at his wife. He has been married long enough to know to look at her when she speaks to him, no matter what game is on in front of him.

 _"His and her closets" she says repeatedly._

 __ _"Relent." Doesn't she know how much pressure he is under? He turns his head back to the television._ _  
_

_"I'm just saying..." Tami pushes again._

 __ _"I know what you are saying." He stopped her from continuing, but she didn't seem to care._

 __  
Julie goes on about how Moby Dick is the perfect metaphor for the town of Dillon. Tami, still intrigued with this house, starts clipping out the real estate ad to the fridge.

 _Julie is still making her case about Moby Dick and Eric stares at her in disbelief. She was so smart, like her mother. Beautiful and smart._

 __

 _"I'm not so sure you're mine." He says to Julie, knowing there was no truth to it. "I'm going to have to order up a DNA test, I think". He had a softer side that he allowed his family to see. He was smart and funny. Tami told him when they were younger those two traits were what stole her heart. That and that gorgeous smile. She loved his smile._

 __

 _"Do you hear me?" Tami interrupts._

 __

 _He makes a football analogy relating to Moby Dick, letting Julie know he was following her. She was definitely his too!_

 __

 _"His and her closets baby - woo hoo!" Tami sang out as she threw her hands in the air, doing a sexy spin around the kitchen_. Yes, Julie was definitely his because that dance reminded him of how Tami danced the night she was conceived.

 _It was their graduation night. Their parents had just left Austin, leaving the new graduates to their own devices. Their post-graduate lives were well mapped out. Eric wouldn't have had it any other way. Eric had a teaching job lined up with a small stipend to assistant coach. He figured he would get in to the coaching world any way he could and work his way up through the ranks. Tami was planning on attending graduate school. They were to marry that June, not wanting to wait for her to complete her masters. They waited long enough. Eric proposed in the middle of their junior year. They often talked about the future – their future together and where life would take them. They would lay in bed, discussing what NFL team Eric would play for, what cities they wanted to live in. They knew money would never be an issue. During a playoff game the beginning of his senior year, Eric tore his rotator cuff injuring his shoulder and part of his arm. Their future was destroyed in one down of football._

 _He expected Tami to bail. At times, he wished she did. He knew she could have found someone to give her the lifestyle they talked about. He knew all the luxuries she wanted. They talked about it for hours on end._

 _But it never happened. It wasn't meant to be. Tami pleaded for him to understand that just because the NFL was not meant to be, that they weren't meant to be. After a month of this constant reassurance, Eric never wanted to let Tami go. He realized her loyalty and honesty trumped his fears of not living up to her previous expectations of him. So he did what was in his heart. He held on tight to the only woman he ever truly trusted. He asked her to marry him. So, the night of their graduation they were celebrating their next chapter. They were out with friends, and he watched Tami have one too many, loving the fact that she trusted him to take care of wherever this night took them. He chuckled as she climbed on the top of the bar, dancing, knowing she thought Eric was the only one watching her. He was well aware of the amounts of eyes on her as she threw her arms in the air and spinning around. He prayed she would always come back to him. When they went back to their apartment they shared, she asked, "Did you like my dance?"_

" _Baby, if you dance like that for me, you will have me eating out of the palms of your hands for the rest of our lives."_

At Buddy's dealership the following night, Tami watches her husband work the room. He always had charm. He always had good southern boy manners that took him places. She remembers thanking her mother-in-law on her wedding day for raising him right.

She sees he is trapped talking to men who care way too much about football. She can visually see how tense he is, knowing he needs an outlet. She walked over, and as she does so, make eyes contact. His eyes are pleading with her to save him.

"Hi Y'all. I'm sorry to interrupt. I need to steal my husband for one second."

He just shrugs, takes her hand and lets her lead him to the moon if she asked. "Thank you." He whispers leaning close to her ear.

She spins around to face him, raising her hands to fiddle with the knot in his tie. "God, you look good in a suit."

"Yeah?" He replied in a flirtatious tone.

"Yeah!" She smiles at him, easing some of the tension. "Always. You okay?"

Before he is able to answer, Eric gets called up to the stage, a request from the mayor. He takes the mic, trying to find Tami in the crowd.

 _"I'm going to make this quick. As a lot of you know, my wife does most of the talking around the house." He continued to search the crowd for her, making sure she saw the twinkle in his eye, communicating he was joking. "I'm going to get in a lot of trouble for that too"._

Tami could have been mad, but she wasn't. She was so proud of him, his confidence being a huge turn on for her. Although that had not always been the case. When they were younger she mistook that now sexy trait as cockiness. She could remember how she once felt about him, how he used to frustrate the hell out of her.

The rest of the evening Tami was attacked by the wives of boosters, asking her to come to some sort of book club meeting. Eric was swarmed by what felt like a million people telling him how to do his job. It went as far as some saying they have been driving by his house, wondering if he was putting in the hours, watching game tape. How many more gentleman were going to say, "We want to win championships! Are you going to be able to bring us championships?" _These damn people were crazy, he thought._ _  
_

When they reached home that night, Eric was particularly quiet. He was trying to digest the millions of requests they presented. Tami went straight to their bedroom and undress and he trailed right behind her.

"God Lord, Eric. Tonight was tough to get through. These women are trying to get me to sign up for a girl's night out, joining their book clubs, and god knows what else." She started taking off her jewelry in the bathroom as he sat on the bed, removing his shoes and socks.

He knew this was not Tami's thing. She always had friends, but they were never made because of some common force. "My night wasn't easy either. You think I like being told what to do day in and day out?" He asked, hoping she would understand his night was much more difficult. "Plus, I had to keep the boosters happy, keep Smash from running his mouth and Riggins needs to learn how to distance himself from the ladies. I care what my boys do in public, Tami." He continued, "Plus, I had to keep an eye on you. I see the way those men flirt with you." He was making a joke, but wanted her to know he always had his eyes on her. "I want you to be happy here too Tami."

She loved when he said the simplest of things, the words carrying so much weight. She had him right where she wanted him. She walked over to the edge of the bed where he was sitting, pulling at the knot in his tie once again. "Take a look at that house for me, by yourself. You don't need me nagging you. I know I can drive you crazy sometimes." She leaned down and kissed him, and instinctively he grabbed the back of her head, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss.

He opened his mouth and slipped his tongue in her mouth, pulling her closer, urging her to lie on top of him. "You drive me crazy all the time, but only in the best way possible."

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	2. Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open

Season 1 - Episode #2

 _ **Disclaimer: I own nothing**_ _ **  
**_

Thanks for all the reviews! _ **  
**_

Eric still couldn't believe it. The chances of something like this happening were slim to none. Where did he go wrong? What could he have done differently? He spent most of the day Saturday wondering how he could have avoided what happened. A good coach relives every single play. He did it as a player too, and although most of his teammates didn't think too deeply about it afterwards, Eric always did. That is why coaching came so easy to him. His mind worked in strange ways, always analyzing, always critiquing. 

Tami told him he needed to stop dwelling on himself, and start to think about The Streets. That family had their lives turned upside down, and he couldn't stop dwelling on himself. Leave it to Tami to call him out on it. She knew the pain they were dealing with far surpassed what Eric was feeling at the moment. Tami was just trying to put it into perspective, begging Eric to see the full picture. As Eric put his head on the pillow Saturday night, he had no idea what was going to happen next. 

On Sunday morning, as they sat in church, he could feel the entire congregation's eyes on him. They were all awaiting his next move. As the people, filtered out of the church, making small talk with each other, Buddy was the only one who had the guts to broach the elephant in the room with Eric.

 _"We need a plan for Friday night." Buddy whispered, not wanting the whole church congregation to hear them as they filtered outside. "In fact, we need a plan for the rest of the season - is what we need Eric." Like Eric didn't already know that. His entire career was on the line and he didn't need Buddy pointing that out to him. "So tell me Eric, you think little Matt Saracen can get it done?" They both watched Matt throw the football around on the church grounds. He didn't know what to think or how to answer that. Eric knew his confidence had to shine, play it nonchalantly. If he didn't, the whole damn town would panic._ __

_"I guess we're fixin' to find out." He certainly wasn't going to let Buddy invade the thoughts he was having about the direction of the team. "That was a nice sermon, wasn't it?" Eric asked as he walked away. He didn't need to discuss his concerns with Buddy._ __

Practice was rough. Rough for Eric. Rough for Matt. Rough for the assistants. Rough for the team. Eric must have said at least twice a day over the past few days, _"I don't want you thinking out here. I want you to throw the ball."_ The irony was Eric was that same type of player, just with more skill. His coach used to always say, stop thinking and have fun with it. The fun came out of football once Eric started approaching high school. His dad made sure it. While his teammates were chugging beers and chasing girls, Eric was continually running plays over in his head. He did not want to let his father down. The game never left his mind, even when he was doing his own chasing and chugging.

When he got home, he was exhausted. His heart was breaking for Jason and The Streets. He was overwhelmed with how to handle Matt and the local radio personalities would not get off his back. Julie was doing homework at the kitchen bar, while Tami was getting ready to go out. It was probably a good thing that Tami was about to go out for the evening because he was spent. Every ounce of energy he had was left on that field today.

He continued to watch game tape as Tami came into the room announcing she was off to book club. He loved her for giving him space. She knew exactly how to handle him and he loved her for the dance they perfected after all these years.

 _He turned his head slightly toward her. "Hey, come here." He said in a low voice. Although he kept his head turned toward her, his eyes went back and forth between the television and her beautiful face. She leaned down to become eye level with him, knowing he was still struggling with what happened. He was watching the same play over and over again. She leaned in, her forehead touching his, finally gaining his full attention with his eyes. She held his stare, apologizing without words for what he was going through. She kissed him softly, letting him know she was there for him. "I love you", she whispered when she broke the kiss. "I love you too, babe", he said back, thanking her silently._ _  
_

She didn't home too late. It wasn't until her fourth attempt that she was finally able to walk out the door. She had to get out there. When she got home, she quietly entered their room, hoping that Eric was asleep. She felt like he hasn't slept well since Jason's accident. When she saw his body under the covers she could tell he was awake. She knew all of his positions.

"How was book club?" He asked, but she had a strange feeling he really didn't particularly care.

She thought about how to answer. She thought about what her husband needed from her right at that very moment and she decided to lie. "It was great." She said it in a higher pitch than her normal voice, hoping he didn't catch the fakeness of it. "It felt good to get out and converse with adults." He didn't need to hear that those women had a hundred different suggestions for Eric about his team, his boys.

 _The next morning Eric took his frustrations out on their already broken air conditioning unit. "It's broken. You were right. Call the guy. I'm sorry." Can anything go right?_

 _Tami knows that look on his face and realizes now might not be the time to bring this up. She could wait until there was less stress or he had a little more confidence, but waiting was not Tami's style. She was always direct and honest. She throws one more thing at him. "Sugar, I think it's time for me to get a job. I mean, we talked about it. We're settled. I think it's alright."_

 __

 _Was she crazy? She was going to start this conversation now, in the midst of all the chaos. He took a drink of cold water, when he wanted to down a scotch. "Adding that in now?" He asked, smiling because he knew he could never hold her back._ _  
_

___"Yeah, now." She smiled back. He started to walk away but she wanted to make sure he understood that she was serious. "I'm going to put out some feelers, alright?"_ _  
_

___"A'ight."_

 __

 _"Alright?" She asked, treading g a little bit more lightly than she normally would have if the circumstances were different._

 __

 _"That's great." He said less than enthusiastically, rubbing his hands through his sweaty hair._

 __

 _"Nothing you need to worry about." She wanted to make that clear._

Later that evening as Eric was driving home, he reflected on his day. Smash and Riggins had a fight on the field, Matt was still struggling with his offense and Buddy was eyeing him up and down from the bleachers, questioning his abilities, falling apart at the seams. When he pulled into his driveway, he was grateful to see Tami's car parked on the right side. He needed her tonight.

After he hung up his coat and made his way down the long corridor, he found her sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through the newspaper. "Hi." She said softly, not making eye contact.

"Hey." He said with the same amount of enthusiasm, making his way to the fridge, grabbing himself a cold beer. Where should he start? "I went to see Jason today."

"You did?" She couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "How was he?"

"Not the kid I knew. That's how he was. He was not the kid I knew."

"I'm sorry babe." She really was. She was probably the only person in this entire world that knew how much he was hurting over this.

"Then again, he was stronger than the kid I knew."

"How's that?" She said, folding the paper in front of her, giving Eric her undivided attention.

"He actually apologized for letting me down. Letting me down? Can you believe that Tami?" He can feel his emotions start to take over, but didn't want to break down. He didn't want to break down just yet.

Tami could see he was struggling with the words, got up from the table and stood in their kitchen beside him. "I do believe it. Jason is a great kid. You were the one who saw him for the person he was, before he became Jason, the football star." She wanted Eric to know she always believed in him.

"He asked about Matt, and how he was holding up. There wasn't an ounce of jealousy in his voice. Not an ounce." He took a deep breath, gaining some composure. "He told me his thoughts on Saracen and the type of player he seemed to think he is." He looked at Tami, making sure she was still listening. "He told me he was creative, that I should free him up a bit on the field." Tears started to form, as he continued. "He told me these things, because he knew it was what was best for the team. The team he led, but now will not be a part of anymore."

Tami's heart broke for her husband, knowing Jason's prognosis was not good. Eric continued, as she just listened. "In that small conversation, I realized that I have been handling Matt the completely wrong way. Jason had to tell me that. I am lost right now, Tami." She took a step toward him, wanting to embrace him, but he took a step back, wanting to finish saying what he needed to say. "He's a good man for the things he said tonight. I told him that. I was so proud of him tonight. I told him it was guys like him….." He couldn't get the rest out. He struggled to maintain his breathing, without completely losing it.

Tami took another step toward him, reached her arms around his shoulders to let him let go. He needed to release some of the pressure he was holding on to for the past week. "He let me off the hook. He knew I was blaming myself and he let me off the hook. That kid is something special." He embraced her fully now, needing to feel her in his arms.

"He is." She simply said, "But you are something special too."

The next night when they met at Applebee's for dinner, Tami could see the stress still existent throughout her husband's entire body. As he came over to where she was sitting, he was reminded once again of how lucky he was. He gave her a kiss before sitting down, placing a gentle hand behind her head. It was their signature move, expressing they wanted a little bit more than they could have at the given moment. Eric was usually the one who initiated the sex in their relationship, but at this moment, even Tami felt like it had been awhile since they had been intimate. She always thought sex was a good stress reliever for Eric, but no too long ago, Eric educated Tami on the topic. If she thought about it, this was right around the time, he started this job in Dillon, where stress levels took on a whole new meaning. "I want to be in it 100%. I don't want to be distracted. I want to take my time and make love with every part of me, including my mind."

She laughed when he said it. She knew he had his moments where that statement had been completely false. Eric liked to "empty his tank", as he called it, before big games. She also knew sometimes what he needed was just a quick lay. You get to know someone after years of marriage. As they got older though, Eric made statements about taking his time and not going through the motions. He loved their active sex life. 

She held back her laughter when she realized he was serious. He was such a strict militant with his boys, how he handled boosters and parents and he was also rigid with the media. With her, he softened. He wore his heart on his sleeve. He held his ground on many things. Yes, they disagreed and argued about things because they were not afraid to be honest with one another. Despite that, he loved her and trusted her more than anyone else.

He took a seat across from her and apologized for keeping her waiting. She wanted to lighten the mood so she can break the news to him. She really didn't want to add more stress. "It's alright. I made a couple of dates for next week, one with a hog farmer from Rio Tinto."

"Hog farmer from Rio Tinto?"

"MmmHmm. I always liked hog farmers."

"That's a new one." He knew she could get as many dates as she wanted and she always likes to remind him with these sorts of silly statements. He knew, though, he never had to worry about her faithfulness. He had his full trust in her. "Where's my daughter?"

"Your daughter is at dance rehearsal which I told you about 20 times. How was your day?"

"My day? My day was..."

She interrupted him, not caring about his day because his bad manners trumped anything else. Sweetie? Would you take your hat off at the table?"

He gave her that look that she loved. She was pushing him and he knew it. He obliged, admitting he was wrong, brushing his hair back with his hands. "You look so cute." She said staring at those greenish, hazel eyes.

He told her to go first, to disclose the day's events. The bad news was about the air conditioner, but what she considered good news concerned him. It concerned him way more than he let on. She was going to be a counselor at HIS school? She was going to be getting involved with his boys? She was going to be part of his professional life? This was sitting well.

"You know guidance counselors can be a nuisance and we're going to have some interactions." And not fun kind of interactions that he was used to with her. She told him she already took the job and that didn't surprise him in the least. When Tami wanted to do something, rarely did anything get in her way. "What happened to the consultation we were going to have?" 

On Thursday night or game eve, as they often referred to it, Tami waited for an absent Eric to come home for dinner. She knew him well enough to know he was still in his office going over game tape. She grabbed a 6-pack of beer and headed over to meet him. She needed to make sure he was okay, although she knew he wasn't. As she pulled up to the dark school, the only light that filtered out of the concrete structure was the one from his office. She could see the television on and his slumped form at his desk. She needed him to come home. She wanted him to stop dwelling on what was going to happen tomorrow.

She knocked lightly, not wanting to startle him. He kept his eyes on the television as he spoke. "I saw you pulling up."

She walked over and stopped as she got right behind his office chair. She rubbed one hand through his hair, messing it a bit, loving how sexy he looked when it was untamed. As she put the cans of beer on his desk, he asked "What's with that?"

She didn't answer, leaning down to kiss him. "Fields empty. Let's go make out." Such a sophomoric suggestion, bringing both of them back to a place and time when that was a typical Saturday night for them. Sex, beer and football - Eric's three favorite things. His low laugh was like music to her ears. With all the stress, she hadn't heard him laugh all week.

 _His teammates always hung out on their high school football field. They would bring cheapest beer they could find, a pigskin and make some memories. They would trash talk about each other, locker room talk about girls and honestly talk about the future. Mo would always locker room talk about Tami. There was no doubt that Mo didn't love her, but sometimes Eric thought he loved her for all the wrong reasons._

 _Mo would always try to get Eric to engage. Eric had not one, but two rally girls follow him around, plus an always willing steady girlfriend and few cheerleaders offering him things that he barely spoke about. He never cheated on his steady girlfriends though. Although he thought it was honorable at the time, he would always break up with his steady girlfriends first, when he wanted to act on those other offers. His dad was always faithful to his mother and taught him to be, at_ _the very least, an honest man._

 _The summer before going away to college, he and Tami were finally a couple. She finally dumped Mo and he made sure he was available the instant word got out that Tami confronted him about his cheating. So when Eric emerged from the mart with a 6-pack of beer, asking Tami where she wanted to go, she said something that made him completely nervous. "The field's empty. Let's go make out."_

" _Make out?" He asked, turning to face her in the front seat of his car while turning the key in the ignition. "Make out, make out? Or just make out?" He wondered what exactly she had in mind._

 _She laughed, unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over, using her right hand to cup his face. She placed a small peck on his cheek, and another on his earlobe before whispering, "You're QB1 and it's your field. Use that mastermind of yours and I'm sure you can figure it out."_

 _It wasn't that Eric was nervous about being with Tami. It wasn't their first time, but he was nervous being on that field. That was a sacred place with the guys. He didn't know who was going to show up there and he certainly didn't want to have a run in with Mo._

 _She could see the wheels turning in his head, contemplating her offer. She needed to close the deal, kissing his earlobe again. "I know you're like a boy scout Eric. You have a blanket in your trunk and are prepared in more ways than one." Eric always used condoms. "I want you to call your orders out to me on that field tonight." She turned his head so she could kiss him square on the mouth, but he still was so tense. She pulled back to look into his eyes, trying to read his thoughts._

" _How many times were you on that field with Mo? Honestly Tami?" He didn't want to be Mo's sloppy seconds._

 _She could see a bit of hurt in his eyes, but she was proud to give her answer. "Not one. I didn't trust Mo not call you guys down to watch. I also don't think Mo wanted any of his other girlfriends to see him with me like that." The she turned the tables on him. "How many girls have your brought on to that 50-yard line, to satisfy your cravings?"_

" _Are you kidding Tami?" He smiled, loving the man she thought he was. "Let's go. This will be one of our firsts, together." She smiled back, not realizing how sensitive Eric Taylor could really be._

 _She took a seat across from him, the 6-pack sitting on his desk. He spoke about his concerns for Matt tomorrow. He wasn't ready to be QB1. He was so stressed out about it, because he cared about his boys. Underneath all the yelling, he loved his boys. The town expected him to lead them to State and nothing short of that. His concerns for even winning a single game were at the forefront of his worry._

 __

 _Tami listened to him and encouraged the words to flow. Eric needed her now and her support was everything to him. She waited for him to finish, digested the information and began to speak. "Well, I know what you're going to do. You are going to mold that boy. You are going to mold Matt Saracen. Just like you did Jason Street."_ _  
_

___Eric continued with his worry. He had no time to work with Matt. He was ultimately afraid that a few losses would mean the termination of his employment. He even went as far to admit that he was only there because of Jason. That job was his because of Jason and his family. It hurt to admit it, but he did. He could put it all on the table In front of Tami._ __

_She didn't seemed phased. "You know what? There is not a person in n the world that could do this, except for you." He looked up at her, not sure if he should believe her kind words. "This is what you do. I've seen you do it with my own eyes. I believe in you. I believe in you with every cell of my being."_

"Thanks Tami. I love you for that, but I need to take the next step here and I don't know what that is."

She got up, came closer to him.. She slid the beer cans across the table making room for her to lean against the desk. "You need to learn who Matt Saracen is. You need to understand him so you can understand how he thinks on the field, how he executes. Find out as much as you can about him. Learn about him and let him learn about you." She closed the gap between them and gave him another kiss. "Try not to stay out too late." She said it suggestively but knew he didn't catch it. He was too focused on what to do next.

He took Tami's advice and called Mac. He learned some things about Matt that he couldn't believe. He was a hard worker. He got good grades, he had a part-time job, he had football, he had a dad in Iraq and he had a coach that yelled at him all week. How did this boy hold it together? He knew after learning all of these things, that Matt was tougher than he could have ever imagined. Between Tami's encouraging words and learning of Matt's daily struggles, he started to see a glimmer of hope. He saw that maybe, just maybe, this whole thing was not impossible. As he often did, he took action when he got excited about the prospect of something great. He asked Mac to meet him at the field as he drove over to Matt's house.

Whatever pre-determined notions he thought he revealed to himself about Matt, he was still surprised at this kid. He was embarrassed to invite him into his house, he lived with his grandmother who was very sweet, but looked dependent on him. He was wearing some sort of fast-food uniform and he look of exhaustion and fear on his face. Eric wondered if right from practice today, he went to work. When did this kid have time for his studies?

Eric remembered the struggles he had of his own. His dad put an immense amount of pressure on him, but he was there. He truly believed in Eric. He supported him and Eric never doubted that. He spoke to Matt about his father as they made their way onto the football field that night.

He needed this boy to trust him. He needed to open the gates and let him take control if he wanted it. He knew Matt had a lack of confidence that was not going to work trying to be a leader, trying to be QB 1. This boy needed guidance. This boy needed a role model. He needed someone to believe in him.

Matt didn't know why Coach brought him out there tonight, but it felt good. The only thing Matt Saracen was sure of was that he loved his Grandma and he loved football. Those two things were the only constants in his life. Eric had to invest the time so he would look at him as a constant too.

Tami was in bed by the time he arrived home. She heard him come in, hearing the faint sounds of his evening routine. He would hang up his jacket first, and then put his shoes by the front door. He would then walk down the hallway and throw his keys either on the counter on the table. She then heard the soft thud of his hat hitting the surface. She waited for him to enter their bedroom before speaking softly, letting him know she was still awake. "How'd it go?"

"It went." He simply said. "I think I made some progress."

"Good." She noticed he looked a bit more relaxed than when she left him earlier in his office.

He made his way over to her side of the bed, sitting on the edge. "This kid is so much like me, it's scary." She looked from her, to his hands, folding them in his lap.

"Why? How can you tell?" He rolled over onto her side so she could face him.

"He's has to work so hard every day, Tami. That kid is the responsible adult in his home. He has to care for his grandmother. He has to go to school. He works a part-time job every day after practice. He has all of those responsibilities and, on top, football." He was hoping Tami would see the connection. "That kid impressed me tonight."

Tami knew the correlation he was trying to make. Eric had two part-time jobs in high-school, a demanding father, a religious mother he expected him attend church twice a week and football. Tami could remember how thin Eric was spread, remembering at times feeling sorry for him. "I'm sure you impressed him too."

"You impressed me too." He said, unfolding his hands and brushing a strand of hair away from her gorgeous face.

"I did?" She asked, sitting up, surprised by his words.

"You got a job in one day. You managed to talk me off a ledge. Thank you for your words today." He explained. He leaned in slowly, wanting to kiss her, but halted as he looked into her eyes.

"They weren't just words, Eric" She leaned forward to meet his lips, placing a hand behind his head. "They are my true and honest feelings." She pulled him toward her, kissing him deeply, her head pushing back into the pillows as he climbed on top of her. He moved his lips down her neck as his hands moved up her arms and crossed over to her breasts. He gently squeezed, circling his thumb around her nipple.

"I'm proud of you, today and always, Tami." He trailed his lips down toward her chest. "Let me show you. I am here 100% mind, body and soul."

Please review!


	3. Wind Sprints

**Wind Sprints**

 **Season 1 – Episode #3**

 _ **Disclaimer: Peter Berg and Elizabeth Heldens get the credits. I own nothing, although I really wish I did. All italics are their words or flashbacks.**_

 _ **A/N: After watching Episode #2 (Eyes Wide Open), I remember thinking how very special this show really was going to be. And "Wind Sprints" was definitely where my Eric Taylor obsession began. The vision of Kyle Chandler soaking wet is not something I will likely forget.**_

Eric knew what everyone was expecting. He heard it on the radio a thousand times over the past week. It's all about the ground game. All Saracen needed to do was pass it to Smash every time. Smash was the best running back in the state, if not the country. Eric must have heard every alumni and booster this past week – Get the ball to Smash.

Tami watched her husband all week, taking advice from every which way, wondering if he would fold under the pressure. She knew him better than to do that. It wasn't his style. He always went against the grain, pissing people off along the way. Eric's confidence in his abilities never wavered. He got that from his father. Before Tami, no one believed in him and his abilities like his father.

" _He just wants the best for me." He once explained to Tami when she questioned his motives. "He believes I can go all the way."_

" _What if you don't, Eric? Will he be able to digest the enormity of that?" She asked, knowing it was a sensitive subject. She knew how hard Eric worked to impress his father. "What if you don't want to play anymore? Would you even be able to have that conversation with him?"_

" _I want to go all the way too, Tami." He thought, at this point in their relationship, she knew this. Eric was having a very successful collegiate football career. The possibility of him going pro was very likely. After over two years of being together, he couldn't imagine his life without her. "I hope that wherever all the way takes me, you will come too." It was the first real conversation they had about planning their future together._

From the stands, she watched him doing the unexpected, taking the road less traveled. He was making calls that were successful, but his players were not executing them through. She noticed him slowly starting to lose it. The way he was pacing up and down the sidelines, the constant pulling off of his headsets roughly as he yelled were clear cut signs that his boys were not supporting him.

He couldn't help it. Those boys were going to hear his disappointment from his gut. They were going to know exactly what he thought about their performance. When it came to discipline and motivation, the words always flowed. He dug as deep as he could and found the words to get his point across.

Sometimes after the games, in the privacy of their home, Tami would question him about the halftime or post-game talks. She sometimes wondered what his strategy was during that crucial time, the psychologist in her always working. The conversation usually ended in laughter, Tami making fun of the ridiculous words that spewed from his mouth and Eric admitting that truth.

It always took Eric a full day to come out of the haze of a loss. He stayed in, watching the game tape going over where he should have made different calls. After a win, he would go around town, washing his car, filling his gas tank, knowing pats on the back and hand shaking were a sure thing. But after a loss, he knew this town would not handle it well.

Everyone started to tell him how to do his job. It started on Saturday night when he and Julie went to the Alamo Freeze to pick up dinner. Some random stranger started asking Julie if they packed their bags yet. He was infuriated. How dare this jerk talk to Julie like that?

Smash decided Monday would be his day. Eric had no problem with his players coming into his office and discussing things – personal or football related. He made it quite clear to his boys that his door was always open. There was one thing he had no tolerance for and that was what happened on his field. No player should ever disrespect him on that field. Helmet stays on, minds stay focused and you put all you got into each and every practice. Those were his rules and typically, his boys followed them.

Eric had a hard time hiding the look of shock and disgust he wore on his face as Smash ran his mouth. How dare he tell Eric how to run his practice? How dare he speak for the entire team when he wasn't asked to do so? How dare he insult Saracen when he was the only player who did exactly what he was told to do? Smash better shut up before Coach makes him run until his legs fall off. This was his field!

The pancake dinner is where Buddy cornered him _. "Matt Saracen is not going to take us to State. I just think it's about time we move on this Katrina kid."_

 _Why did Buddy always push him? Doesn't Buddy know by now that he doesn't like to be pushed? "Let me just say one thing about that. I hope this is on the up and up because I really have enough headaches going on as it is." Buddy asking him to look at this kid's game tapes was like Buddy saying he didn't trust him._

Next up was Mac. Without discussing it with him, Mac already knew more about this kid from New Orleans than he should have. Mac was in full agreement with Buddy. Apparently they have been discussing this kid in great detail over a barbeque he wasn't invited to. It felt like a tug of war – the town of Dillon against Eric in a very unfair fight.

Eric hated that no one trusted him. He hated that people truly believed he couldn't do this job. He needed to be given a chance. He wasn't stupid. He knew everyone thought he was underqualified, and Jason Street was the only reason he was there. Without Jason, did he belong? Eric never gave up easily and knew, with some time, he would win the hearts of Dillon.

 _The worst, in Eric's eyes, happened at practice the next day. "Come on son, what's your problem? Keep diggin' your legs. Keep them movin'." That was how it started. He wanted more from Riggins. He knew he had more in him than he was showing on the field. "Come on son, let's go." He watched Tim go through the line again, getting pushed back and forth. "Keep your head up. Keep diggin'." Why was this kid having trouble today? "Get over here! Come here!" He called to him. "I don't see you preparing for this game son. You go hard or your go home." He paused, but all Eric heard was the heavy breaths Tim was taking. "Come on now. When you're out here, you give 110%.like everybody else. You give 110% all the time. Not just when you feel like it. Now come on son, let's do it again."_

 _He realized he pushed too hard. As Tim raised his hands to the strap on his helmet, Eric knew what he was doing. "Don't do it son. Don't do that." Taking your helmet off while on his field was a huge sign of disrespect to him. The coaches knew it, his players knew it, Tim knew it. "Don't do what I think you're about to do." Eric said, giving him another chance to continue to play. "Don't do that. You don't want to do that." He didn't sound like he was pleading, but deep inside he was nervous. He could afford yet another thing to go wrong this season._

He just wanted to go home. He wanted to just concentrate on football. Buddy stopped him before he was about to get into his car, Mac in tow. Buddy made sure Eric knew he saw Tim walk off the field. He pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on says, _"What can I do for ya, Buddy?"_

" _I just wanted to see if you wanted to go with us over to talk to that kid. That Ray Tatum kid."_

 _He couldn't back down. He had to stick to what he knows. Go with his gut. His father always taught him that. "Matt Saracen may be a wild card, but you know one thing I like about Matt Saracen? I don't have to be worried about recruitment violations."_

Buddy tried to spin his words, but Eric was smarter than that. He made sense though. Buddy wouldn't be as successful as he was if he didn't know how to sell people.

As he finally walked through the front door of his home tonight, he thought about what he did. He knew it was wrong. He knew he could get caught. It went against everything he believed in, but Buddy seemed to know how to talk almost everyone into almost anything.

" _Hey!" Tami said lifting her head up from the newspaper she was reading._

" _Hi kids." He said as he made his way down the hallway._

" _Hi Daddy." Julie called from the couch, watching something on television, simultaneously doing her homework._

" _Have you had dinner?" Tami asked, recognizing he was getting home later than normal._

" _No, I didn't." He slung his briefcase on the counter, playing with his hat. "I'm sure I can find something here."_

" _There's chicken in there." She quickly changed the subject. "Hey, you didn't tell me y'all were getting a new quarterback from New Orleans?"_

 _How did she hear about this? For goodness sake, he just got back from that kid's motel room. How did she know any of this? Maybe this town was smaller than he thought. "Where'd ya hear that?"_

" _Well, Matt Saracen came in today. He's feeling real stressed out about it."_

 _Eric put his hands on his hips, taking his defensive stance. "Really? Matt Saracen is under a lot of pressure, huh?" Does she have any clue how much pressure he was under. He turned away, focusing on getting himself some dinner, not sure if he wants to have this fight. He didn't want to fight with her too._

" _Yeah." She challenged, knowing he was pissed._

" _Maybe I should go over to Matt Saracen's house and make him some Ovaltine, read him a bed time story."_

" _I think you may want to try a little compassion with him." She said back forcefully, not recognizing who this shell of a man was right now._

 _Julie got up and excused herself from the conversation. She hated were her parents were too affectionate in front of her, but she hated when they fought even more. "Bye Daddy." She sung on the way out. She mouthed to her mother "have fun", knowing her father was in a foul mood._

" _You don't need to be sarcastic." Tami challenged, once Julie was down the hall._

" _You know what I think?" He said leaning over the counter, making sure she was listening. He took a brief look down the hallway to make sure Julie didn't hear how upset he really was. He gritted his teeth as he spoke. "I think everyone in this whole damn town is telling me how to do my job. And the one thing I think those kids don't need? They don't need compassion. That's what I think."_

 _She knew he was on a roll. She hasn't seen him this furious in a long time. She just nodded her head and let him continue. She knew he needed to get it out. "You know what else I think? What they need to do, is they need to win. And something else? You and I? We need to win. She nodded her head, knowing at this moment in time there was no talking to him. There was no reasoning with him. "We need to win." He repeated._

 _He didn't think that one play would have completely changed the course of his life. He knew he was hurt, he knew something bad had happened, but he never in the million years thought his dreams were shattered. The life he and Tami dreamed about was destroyed in seconds._

 _He was told he would never have the mobility in his right arm that he once had. The NFL draft was months away. He already had agents competing over him, wanting to make the NFL deals for him. He took Tami to all his meetings. They would always start with Tami, knowing she held the keys to his heart, his future._

" _Beach or mountains? Dessert or coast? What will it be pretty lady?" Eric would smile, knowing Tami loved the attention. He loved that his hard work through the years was going to provide a great life for both of them. He was only home two days before the realization set in. He was done. Both agencies sent letters pulling their offers to represent him. Some personnel from certain franchises reached out saying they spoke to his doctors and knew he was never going to make a full recovery._

 _He couldn't handle any of this. He couldn't handle the rejection. He couldn't handle his father's disappointment. He couldn't handle that he was, not only ever going to play for the NFL, but will likely not finish out his very successful collegiate career. Most of all, he couldn't handle Tami. He knew his life wasn't the only one ruined. When she tried comforting him over the next few weeks, he lost it._

" _Don't you get it, Tami? I am done. I will never amount to the expectations I set for myself, for us." He raised his voice so she would get his message through that thick head of hers. He needed to be alone. He needed to figure out who he was, since now he was no longer going to be the professional athlete with the big house, the fancy cars and the wealthy lifestyle._

" _I don't get why you're upset with me." She said frustrated. "I don't get why you're pushing me away."_

 _He raised his voice again. "I can't do this with you, like this."_

" _Do what?" She was afraid of what he was going to say next. "Eric, be careful what you say next."_

 _For so long, she built him up. She was so proud of what they were to become. "I can't live with disappointing you too."_

 _She wanted to tell him things he should already know. She wasn't with him because he was going to be a football star. She wasn't with him because of his stats and awards. How did he not know that by now? "You're never a disappointment to me, Eric. I love you for the honest, caring, dignified man that you are."_

" _I don't know who I am anymore." He was so angry; he had no idea what he said exactly to spur the biggest fight they ever had up until this point. "I don't know how to be with you like this."_

" _What are you saying?" She felt the tears, threatening to spill over._

" _I need some time." He said, his heart wrenching, knowing he had to push her away, knowing she probably would just settle into any life he assembled together at this point._

" _Some time?" She questioned. "How much time?_

" _I need forever, Tami." He voice cracked as he said it. "I need to be alone and figure out my next move and I can't do that with you hanging on to me."_

" _Hanging on to you? Is that what you think I have been doing for the past few years? Just hanging on?" When he didn't say anything, she continued. "Fuck you, Eric. You were so much more to me than apparently I was to you." She said, about to walk out of his life. "I hope you find what you're looking for."_

 _It was the first and last time they ever broke up. It was three torturous months that they were apart. The second Eric saw Tami with someone else on campus, he knew he made a big mistake. It took another month, but eventually Tami gave in to him. It seemed like ever since then, she had the upper hand in their relationship._

" _Honey, there's Smash?" Tami said, pointing at the television._

 _Eric made his way out of the kitchen, wanting to hear what Smash was about to say to the media. "There's a lot of talk around Dillon that Taylor is not the right guy for the job?" The reporter said, putting the microphone in Smash's face._

 _Defend me, Eric thought. He knew this kid wasn't thrilled with Eric right now, but he knew this kid was smart. He hoped this kid trusted him. Then Smash spoke. "See, man, I can't even mess with you. You're already trying to get me in trouble."_

 _Tami noticed the stress lines deepening on Eric's face. The reporter continued. "I want to know where you stand. You must have an opinion?"_

 _Come on, Smash, Eric thought to himself. "Oh, I have an opinion."_

 _The reporter pushed again. "I would too. You have a lot to lose if the coach mismanages this team."_

 _Tami's eyes widened at the nerve of that reporter, but Eric just focused in, the fury building. "Off the record, I just think Coach should be winning football games."_

 _How dare he! Eric couldn't believe it. He officially lost all control and he was going to gain it back. Tonight!_

 _He didn't even hear Tami. "Let it go" She said sternly. She could see how upset he was. He pursed his lips, his eyes searching the floor of what to do next. He turned off the television and walked over to where the cordless phone was. "He's a stupid kid, hon. Let it go." She wasn't getting her message through to him. He started dialing the phone, focused. Mad. "Eric?" She questioned. "What are you doing?"_

 _He paced and smirked at her, giving her a look saying 'I always win'. "Just let it go. Come on."_

 _She then listened to his one sided conversation. "Mac? Yeah. Yes, I did just see it. I want you to get the team together and I want you to meet me at the field house in half an hour." He was still pacing as Tami looked at him in disbelief. "Yes, Mac. I know what time it is. Mac! Field house in half an hour. Thank you." He started gathering his things, hanging up the phone and nodding to Tami as he walked toward the front door._

" _Bye." She called to him, knowing there was no sense in trying to stop him. He rarely got like this and she knew it was best to just let him go. He would come back to her. He always did._

" _You guys have a nice night now." He said, slamming the door._

He let his boys have it. Who the hell did they think they were? There was no room for disrespect. In his eyes, the media was the enemy and Smash was entertaining them. Smash was always running his mouth, but never against him and never against his team.

He didn't care that it was almost 11:00pm. He didn't care that it was raining out. He didn't care that these boys could break their ankles running through water and uneven ground. These boys were going to know who was in charge. His boys were going to respect him.

He didn't walk back into the house until 2:45am. After returning the bus to the field house, he took a shower in the locker room. He was soaked and knew he'd wake Tami if he tried to do it at home. He silently thanked Tami when she brought a change of clothes to store in his office.

He stepped lightly into his bedroom, stripping himself of his pants and shirt. Wearing just his checkered boxers and white t-shirt, he slowly pulled back the covers, sliding his body in next to hers. He slid his right arm over her torso, reaching for her hand.

" _It's three o'clock in the morning. Where have you been?" She was awake, wondering for the past hour how he was punishing those kids._

" _Practice."_

She rolled over to face him, stroking his cheek and looking deeply into his eyes. "I get why you did what you did tonight." She moved her hands, from his face to his back, rubbing it soothingly. "I understand the need for them to see you differently. But at some point, when is it all too much?"

"I don't know."

"You have to let it go sometimes."

"I can't. I just can't." He tried to formulate the words that were plaguing his mind. "Nobody trusts me to do my job. No one is this damn town believes me."

"I believe in you."

"I know that."

"You need to try and calm down. You need to believe in yourself too."

He smiled, his chest rising a little bit as he felt a familiar stirring in his pants. "You know, you could assist in the calming down part." He made eye contact, smiling a little more.

His smile was contagious. He was always so stern, so to see him reveal himself like that was such a turn on for her. Plus, his smile always reached his eyes and God, she loved his eyes.

She rolled over on top of him, pushing him on his back, his head surrounded by the pillows. She captured his lips with hers, feeling his hardness below. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, placing a hand on her head, pulling her closer to him. He needed her right now. He needed to release all the stress he buried deep within. She pulled back, making eye contact, his eyes questioning. "Exactly, what kind of assistance are you looking for?" She rubbed her groin against his, adding to the mounting pressure, feeling so unbelievably good.

He needed to feel the control. He hated that he lost a bit of that this week. He rolled her onto her back, hovering above her. He kissed her deeply, again, his hands starting to roam her body, his lips moving to her breasts. She played with his hair as he did so, loving how his lips felt on her chest.

He then pulled her tank top down, revealing her nipple, lapping it with his tongue. His hands continued to roam, grabbing her ass. He always had a hard time controlling himself with her. "I don't need much." He got that out through the heavy breathing.

Tami laughed. She threw her head back and laughed. It was three o'clock in the morning and she was laughing a true genuine laugh. "You never did."

"You trying to tell me somethin'?"

She started to move herself into a sitting position, pushing Eric back a bit, guiding him to lie down. She straddled him, slowly moving herself back and forth, back and forth. The friction between his boxers and her pajama shorts was enough to draw a loud groan from him.

"Yes." She pulled his t-shirt off, with his assistance, not caring what she was going to do to him next. She kissed his bare chest, his stomach, pulling the elastic to kiss his hips. She slowly started to pull his boxers off, speaking softly and seductively. "I love having this much control over you." She moved her mouth to his manhood, doing it exactly the way she perfected it for him over the years.

"You can control me any time you want."

 _Please review if you can, just so I know that someone is actually reading these and/or looking for updates. I hate wondering if it is worth it to continue._


	4. Who's Your Daddy?

**Who's your daddy?**

 **Season #1 – Episode 4**

 _ **Disclaimer: Peter Berg and Kerry Ehrin get the nod this time. Italics are theirs and my flashbacks. I own nothing but if I did, I would have expanded that backstage scene a little more.**_

 _ **Rpunte0109**_ _ **– Thanks for the compiments about staying within the story. I always try to do just do one missing scene from the episode, but end up do a few within the entire. I have trouble choosing. I do think Matt is very much like Eric and see that parallel. Although in this chapter I show the differences between them too.**_

 _ **Maryilee**_ _ **– Thanks for the review. I am going to try and stick with this and complete the first season.**_

 _ **Ericandtamiforever**_ _ **– I post as regularly as I can. The chapters get to be so long so that is why it takes me a week or so.**_

 _ **ICanStopAnytime**_ _ **– Thank you for all your feedback. I do appreciate it. The "foraging" scene is actually in episode #5. I think I told you it was this one, so my apologies. I also love the contrast between sensitive Eric and hard-ass Eric. I never really thought about the parallel bewteen J.D. father and Eric's father, but it's such a good point.**_

 _ **Naguabo – I try not to put the actual scenes from the show back to back with a flashback. Sometimes when the italics bleed together from one to the other, it seems confusing. I am trying to avoid that, but still give the reader both. Thanks for the kind words.**_

 _ **Guests – Thanks for taking the time to post a review. It makes me feel like I have some interest.**_

 _ **A/N: This was my first favorite episode because we got so much Tami and Eric here.**_

"Where are you going?" Tami asked, as Julie came out of her bedroom walking toward the kitchen. "You don't look dressed for bed."

Eric looked over the back of his recliner, taking in the image of his 15 year-old daughter. Tami, who was sitting on the couch, gave her husband a concerned look, so he spoke up. "She's not going anywhere, because if she was going somewhere, she knows that she has to ask us."

Julie let out an annoyed sigh. "I'm going to a party."

"What kind of party?" Tami inquired, already thinking 'no way' in her head.

"You're not going to a party." Eric said dismissively.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you." Julie figured she needed to take the mature route. "I could have lied to you and said I was going to Lois' house. I would like to go to this party. It's on Lois' block so if there is any trouble we can just walk back to her house. "

"Fine."

"Eric?" She couldn't believe that he would not only give in so easily, but also not consult with her first.

"Thanks Dad!" Before Tami could argue, Julie was out the door.

Tami looked at him, clearly pissed off. "What are you doing?"

"I know the party she's going to be at. I heard my boys talking about it in the locker room today. "

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? That the party Julie is going to be at tonight is a football party?"

"My boys are there. They know who she is. They'll watch out for her." He got up off his recliner and made his way to the front of the spot on the couch where she was sitting. "Besides that gives us at least three hours of alone time. When was the last time we had that?" He leaned down to kiss her lips, wanting to deepen it, but she pulled back.

"Sometimes you are so naïve." She smiled slightly, not letting herself lose her concerned train of thought. "You don't think those boys want to stick it to you?" He furrowed his brow in confusion so she continued. "You don't think they want to try and score with Coach's daughter and conquer some sort of forbidden revenge?"

Of course that thought crossed his mind. He knew this day would come and Julie would become the same age as his players. "Yes, the thought crossed my mind and then was immediately erased." He walked away from her and to the kitchen, opening the cupboard and grabbed two wine glasses. "Because they know I would kill them if they didn't anything to my daughter. I mean kill them, Tami." He grabbed the corkscrew and a bottle of white and started back toward her position on the couch. "I hear them in the locker room. I know how they talk. Hell, I did it myself. Believe me, they're not that stupid."

She gave him a genuine smile this time, allowing herself to believe him, even though she knew the idea of sex, not in the confines of their bedroom, was motivation to help him plead his case.

"Let's go outside, enjoy this bottle of wine and see where the night takes us?"

As they lay on their deck patio furniture, drinking their third glass each, they spoke about Julie adjusting to Dillon. Tami rested her body against Eric's, her back against his chest. He used one hand to hold his wine and the other to lazily stroke her arm. It wasn't until halfway through that third glass, that Eric let his fingertips brush over her breast.

"That feels good." He always liked to hear words of encouragement, not that he needed an education on sex. In fact, over the years, he had been the one to educate Tami. When he and Tami started dating, Tami really only knew one way and that was Mo's way.

"Yeah?" He moved his lips to that spot right below her ear lobe that drove her wild. He nipped her skin and she moaned softly. "How about that?" He was massaging her breast, circling his thumb around her nipple and pushing his groin into her lower back. He wanted her to know what she was doing to him. "And that?"

Tami leaned her head back, resting it on his shoulders threatening to drop the wine glass she was gripping tightly now. He moved his hand away from her breast and down past her stomach and to her crouch. The friction of his hand against her jeans was almost too much for her to take. She unknowingly opened her legs a little bit, to give him more access.

"God, Tami, you feel so good."

As some of the wine swished over the rim of her glass, he withdrew his hand from between her legs and reached for the glass. He leaned forward to set it on the table, and in one fluid motion, got up pulling her with him. He wanted to take her inside and make love to her right in the middle of the living room. Having a teenager in the house prevented them from that type of spontaneity.

Tami could feel the wine go straight to her head as she stood up. She was definitely buzzed. As he led her toward the house, she pulled back on his hand as he was out to open the sliding glass door with his other one. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing her breasts against his chest. The force of that caused him to stumble a bit, his back slamming against the glass. He loved when she got like this.

As he spun her around, his pushed his hardness into her groin. "A few more steps Tami, because I know you will never forgive me if I finish this right here, outside for all the neighbors to see. "

She reached for the handle and slid the door open, stepping backwards as Eric guided her to the couch. As she fell backward she grabbed the neckline of his shirt, balling it into her fists, making sure he came with her. Their kisses were hungry and Tami didn't want to wait to get undressed. She started unbuckling his belt and he rubbed his groin once again against her core. She undid the button with one hand as she grabbed him on the outside of his pants with the other hand. She slowly lowered his zipper, making eye contact and giving him a wicked smile, knowing he liked to be teased.

He liked to tease back. "Take your time. I can wait for you all night."

As if Julie was in on their game, they heard the front door open, Julie stormed down the hallway, making a hard left to her room. She didn't see them on the couch.

Tami struggled to get Eric off of her, as he struggled to steady his breathing. "Why is she home so early?"

"Something must have happened." She started walking away from the couch and toward Julie. "Take your time, Coach." She flirted, using his word from moments before. "Julie? What's going on? Are you okay?"

Eric could overhear her talking about "stupid football" players. That was enough to shift his brain to his daughter and her well-being. "Hey. What happened?" He asked, after buttoning himself back up. He made his way to her room, leaning against the doorframe.

"My new shoes got destroyed. Some dumb football player puked all over them"

"What football player?" Eric asked more out of concern for his player than Julie's shoes.

"Like I would tell you! It's hard enough trying to fit in at that school with the two of you working there. I'm not going to rat out the guys you coach."

"Eric?" Tami asked. "Could you give us a minute?"

Eric realized at that moment in time, Julie was growing up. She was going to need her mother more than him as she goes through those high school years. He knew Tami wasn't going to let any of these moments pass her by, wanting to be involved in Julie's life the way her mother wasn't.

When Tami emerged from Julie's room, Eric turned his head, looking at her expectantly. When she didn't say anything, he spoke. "Which one was it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Which one of my players was it?"

Tami stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"What?"

"That's what you're concerned with right now?"

"Well, I'm not concerned about her shoes."

"How about the fact that our 15-year daughter was at a party where there was alcohol?"

He gave her an equally incredulous look. "Are _you_ serious? Have you forgotten _your_ high school years?"

"No." She shot back. "But I don't like the idea of her being around alcohol and football players."

"Why do you have to say 'football players'? Why can't you just say boys?"

"Because if memory recalls correctly, you were a football player and you would always be cornering girls after you had too much to drink." She knew she made a good point. "I don't like Julie being put in that situation."

He hated when she was right. Why was she always right? "I don't either, but she's smart. She knows better."

The next few days proved to be challenging for Eric. First he forgot about Julie's dance recital until Tami reminded him, yet again. Then VooDoo shows up late to practice while the whole team watched him swagger onto the field. Eric did not like that! " _Practice starts at 4:00."_ That punk of a kid acted like he didn't even hear him. Now, the radio personalities were treating this kid like a celebrity, with Buddy supporting it.

Tami found him pacing in the living room one morning, listening to Buddy's voice over the radio. She started pushing the buttons extra hard in frustration, wanting the radio off.

" _What are you poundin' around about?"_

" _Nothing. It's just this guy."_

" _VooDoo?" She questioned._

" _Well.." He continued pacing rubbing his forehead._

" _Don't let VooDoo get into your mind, babe."_

" _I just have a bad feeling about this"_

 _Tami nodded, understanding. He told her about the stunt he pulled at practice. "Well, you should play Matt Saracen."_

" _I wish I could play Matt Saracen. I can't play Matt Saracen." He took a seat in front of her at the kitchen counter, covering his face with his hands, attempting to rub the stress out._

" _Why don't you just play him?"_

" _Because Matt Saracen is self-destructive."_

Julie interrupted them, asking about some party that was supposed to be hosted in their home. Eric could see Tami slowly getting upset because he forgot to mention it. Once he gave the details to her regarding the date and amount of people, he had the nerve to say, " _It's going to be a lot of fun."_

Julie watched on in amusement, loving to see her father squirm. "I'm going to wait in the car.

Julie was out of earshot when Tami spoke. "You have to stop doing this to me."

"I'm sorry. I really am." He got up off the stool he was occupying and made his way toward her in the kitchen. He was still rubbing his head, remembering the predicament he was in.

"You know?" She said holding her coffee cup, "You are so stressed out right now, and that is not good for your image. The media will pounce if they see you like this."

"You're right." He leaned over to give her a kiss on the top of her head. "And I am sorry." He grabbed his briefcase, and walked toward the front door to meet Julie in the car.

They were both feeling a bit sorry for each other. "Shred the stress, babe. People are going to start thinking you're not getting laid." She meant it as a joke, but when she saw him turn back toward her, she continued. "And we both know that's not true."

She met him in the doorway of the kitchen, as he whispered afraid Julie would overhear. "If we go by last night, then that statement is completely true."

She gave him a look which he knew well. Their daughter came first.

"That couch hasn't seen the last of us."

At practice later that day, he watched Matt implode before his very eyes. He wanted so desperately for Matt to succeed. He didn't want to have to start VooDoo. He didn't want Matt to take himself out of the running. He hated seeing VooDoo laugh at Matt's mistakes. Teammates are supposed to build each other, help one another out. So were coaches.

Eric decided he needed to talk to Matt. Eric knew what this kid had on his plate, and needed encouragement. The last time they spoke one on one, Eric felt like he made a breakthrough. This kid was starting to trust him and as a coach, he needed to remind Matt of that.

" _Son, you're a mess out there?" He started the conversation with honesty._

 _Matt didn't disagree. "Yes, sir." He looked at the ground, losing every bit of confidence he built over the past two weeks._

" _You need to get more focused, son." He said it more forcefully._

" _Yes, sir." He couldn't help but think of Julie at that moment. She was the reason he screwed up those two plays. Why did she have to come onto the field like that?_

" _Now, I know what's distracting you." He said sitting back a bit, taking a more relaxed stance._

" _You do?" Matt asked, wondering how mad Coach was going to be at this moment. It was his only daughter._

" _Yes, I do. And I'm going to tell you something. You can forget about VooDoo, you understand me? This is within your reach. But not if you don't attack the opportunity and I mean attack the opportunity. Every day. Every practice._

" _Okay." Matt said, with a tone of relief in his voice._

 _Eric sat back, wondering how to broach the next part of this Matt chat. He knew this was likely another part of his problem. He wasn't an idiot. He heard the locker room talk. He knew what went on with his boys. He knew they often teased Matt that he struggled with girls because of his shyness. "You got a girlfriend?" This kid didn't have a father around so who else was he going to talk to about this._

" _Uh, no." He stuttered. Where was he going with this? "No, sir."_

 _Eric swayed his head back and forth, a little annoyed that he was going to have give more to get more. "Is there someone you're interested in?" He said it a bit slower, hoping Matt would catch up._

" _Uh, yeah." He certainly wasn't going to disclose who if he didn't have to. "Sort of."_

" _Sort of? Well, forget 'sort of.' You know what? Take her out. You understand me?" Eric got the feeling he wasn't seeing the full picture._

" _Sir?" He was confused. Did he know his feelings for Julie? Was he okay with him making a move on his daughter?_

" _Movies. Dinner. Get her in the back seat of your car. I don't care, whatever. But I'm telling you, you need to get loose out there. You're wound up tighter than a rubber band, son."_

 _Matt's eyes widened. "Yes, sir." Clearly, he had no idea what he was talking about, Matt thought._

" _Good. So, tomorrow, you come to practice loose and focused."_

" _Loose and focused." He agreed. "Yes, sir."_

 _Why was he still standing there looking shocked? "Get out of here."_

He knew it probably wasn't the best advice, but he knew it would work. This kid needed to clear himself out – mind and body – so he can fully concentrate on football. He needed this kid to focus. How hard could it be for the quarterback to get a date? He never had that problem in high school. He knew his performance on the field was always better after getting laid.

 _She knew he was drunk. He was always so verbose with her when he drank too much. It was Wednesday night and it was sort of a ritual. Everyone partied on Wednesdays because Thursdays were out of the question. Thursdays they rested to gear up for Friday night._

 _They were all hanging out at someone's house, throwing back beers and passing around some scotch. Scotch was Eric's favorite. Tami was sitting on the couch with Mo, who had his arms wrapped around her. She held her beer with one hand, as the other rested on Mo's forearm, lazily rubbing it back and forth._

 _She saw Eric talking to his rally girl, wishing she could hear their conversation. She turned to Mo, asking him his thoughts so she could get a glimpse inside Eric Taylor. "Eric's a mess right now. What do you think he is saying to her?"_

" _Not much, I bet. He never has to say too much." Mo said, taking a swig of his beer._

 _She watched as Eric put his hand on her shoulder, partially an action of endearment, partially to hold himself steady. Then she heard him laugh, admiring his smile. "Girls always throw themselves at him, huh?"_

 _Mo spoke the truth. "They want him to settle. They think they will be the one." He lowered his lips to her ear, whispering. "They want what we have." Tami smiled, loving how committed Mo was to her. She gave him a kiss, not letting him get too carried away._

 _Mo was always the loud one, the life of the party. "Hey Taylor?" He pointed in the opposite direction. "There's some pretty ones in there."_

 _She continued to watch Eric making his way into the kitchen. His confidence was almost appalling. It made her wonder how he got like that. He put his arm around one of the cheerleaders, whispering something that made her laugh. She then, whispered something back that surprised him. Tami saw his eyes widen, and he stumbled back a bit. Mo started to loosen his embrace and get up. "I'll be right back. He needs to sit down."_

 _She watched as Mo charmed the group of girls, putting an arm around Eric and making them all laugh. She didn't know what he said, but she assumed it was something flirtatious. Mo always liked to flirt. Tami knew it made him feel secure. He needed to know he could still get other girls if he wanted to._

 _Mo ushered Eric to the chair adjacent to the couch Tami was occupying. As Eric not so gracefully fell into the chair, Mo gave Tami a wink. "I'll be right back. She watched as he made his way back into the kitchen, wondering what he was doing._

 _Eric broke Tami out of her thoughts when he spoke. "You look pretty tonight."_

" _You look drunk tonight."_

" _That's because I am." He laughed uncontrollably._

" _How many girls did you tell that to tonight?"_

" _Lots" He smiled, as he surveyed the room. "There are lots of pretty and willing girls here tonight." He never had to be a perfect gentleman around her. He could be himself. He wasn't looking to score with Mo's girlfriend, and because of that, they became friends over the years._

" _What exactly do you say to them? No girl ever walks away from an evening with you pissed off. I don't get how you juggle that."_

" _I'm honest."_

" _Honest?" How honest was he as he used these girls to get laid._

" _Yeah."_

 _She looked around the room, surveying the girls. She often did this with him, telling her who was worth the time and the energy. "You got your eye on someone tonight?"_

" _Maybe." He winked at her._

" _You better start winking in someone else's direction."_

 _He laughed and leaned forward to whisper something to her. He rested his forearms on his knees as he spoke. "I know you understand the importance of this"_

" _I do?" She questioned._

" _Yup." He held her stare, feeling like her blue eyes were sobering him up. "I know all about your Thursday nights."_

 _Tami blushed a bit, before regaining some composure. She and Mo always had sex on Thursday nights. He, like Eric did not like going into a Friday night game without some sort of release, "What about them?"_

" _Locker room talk. That's all you get it. You understand my needs."_

" _Locker room talk huh?" She asked. He nodded and leaned back in his chair, almost satisfied with the information he let loose. It was Tami who uncrossed her legs and leaned forward toward him. "You know, you boys aren't the only ones who talk Eric."_

 _She knew she struck a nerve as she saw some color drain from his face. "Anything you care to share?" He dared her._

" _Not today. No. But, the details of your night with Ally definitely caught me by surprise." As her words flowed, Eric realized he was definitely sober now. "I didn't think you had it in you, Eric. You would not believe how much more in detail girl talk is compared to locker room talk. Girls tell each other everything, Taylor."_

" _Everything?"_

 _She got up, wanting to rescue Mo from the gaggle of cheerleaders that surrounded him. Really, she needed to get away from Eric._

Tami was frustrated. He knew it from the angry looks she threw his way during the entire football party. Eric admitted he threw a lot at her. He also didn't expect the party to be this chaotic. Sixty-ish quickly turned into one hundred and Tami's level of anger rose every time the doorbell rang. She shot dirty looks in his direction like daggers in a medieval storming. They argued underneath the table when he realized she was hiding. They said things they would both later regret. He made mention of the fact that he needed her to get up and host, as if she hadn't done enough already. She told him how much she hated being the wife of a Panther's coach, although deep down, she didn't mean it.

All of their anger dissipated the second that brick was thrown through their living room window. This rivalry week was taken to a level that he wasn't even aware existed. He loved football more than anything. Almost anything. He loved his family more. The fact that football was endangering the safety of his wife and daughter was unacceptable. It was a game. It was a sport he loved, but where did he need to draw the line?

After he finished cleaning up, he started toward their bedroom, wanting desperately to crawl into bed and let sleep take over his body. He knew Tami was done. Physically and Emotionally. He expected her to leave him with the cleanup. He pulled the covers back and saw Tami roll over away from him. That was a huge red flag for him. He knew Tami didn't want to hear it. He knew that brick was her final straw – her breaking point. He wanted to tell her how scared that brick made him. He knew now was not the time.

The next day, he popped by Tami's office. He needed to talk to her. He wanted to make her understand. He sat outside waiting patiently as Tami paid attention to someone else. He played with his hat in his hands while she wrapped things up. As she appeared in the doorway, he stood up and smiled. There was another student waiting to see her, but he didn't care.

" _Hey. I'm next."_

" _What are you doing here?"_

 _He ignored her question. "It's very uncomfortable sitting out there." He shut the door behind her as she took a seat. "I'm sorry that you're mad at me."_

 _She pursed her lips as she stared out the window, trying to gather her thoughts. "Hmm…I don't…I'm sorry….I'm not sure that that counts as an apology. I'm sorry that you're mad at me?" She questioned. "I'm not sure that actually is officially an apology. Do you know what I'm saying?"_

" _Alright. Come on." He started to plead. "You know what I got going on out there. I've got a very stressful job."_

" _You know what? Everybody's got a stressful job." She wasn't buying it._

" _Alright. Yeah, but…."_

" _What? You don't think I have a stressful job?" She challenged._

" _No. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying…."_

 _She interrupted him again. "You know what? You know what I would love? I would love for you to try and talk to a bunch of confused kids who are hopped up on hormones and anxiety and stress."_

 _He leaned back, leaving one arm balanced on one of his legs, taking more of a defensive position. He knew she was just getting started and there was no way he was going to win her over. He half listened as she went on. "Not just bark at them or tell them where they have to carry the ball for the next 30 seconds. But just to really sit down and talk to them._

" _Okay." He nodded, getting ready to stand up. He was ready to admit to loss of this battle._

" _No. Seriously. You sit down and you do that and then you can come back to me."_

 _She got up because she was done. She opened the door, stood against the frame and ushered him out. "Next?" She called the student sitting out there._

 _Eric walked out with his head down, raising his eyes toward the student going in. "Watch out. She's a little pissed off this afternoon._

The truth was, that was the Tami he loved. The one that stood up to him and gave him a fight every once in a while. He loved that she never backed down easily. That was one of her most sexy qualities. They never had a passive relationship. They were both stubborn. They were both passionate.

Tami was not that way with Mo. Eric always thought Tami was always way too patient with him. When he started having feelings for Tami, he started challenging the way she was. " _Why do you let him get away with that?"_

Eric always told Tami she was a strong personality. " _I love how you fight for things you believe in. I love how you don't back down."_ He told her once. She said she drew her strength from him, but he knew it was partially because of Mo.

Mo had hurt her so badly and instead of wallowing in it like most, she picked herself up and dusted herself off. She vouched to be better, smarter and tougher in her next relationship. She didn't expect Eric to knock those walls down at that time. _"One day, those puppy dog eyes are not going to work. And when that day comes, you and I are going to have a tough time."_ She threatened once, after they bickered about something not so important now.

" _I pray that day never comes."_

But maybe today was that day. After years and years of marriage, Tami didn't give in so easily. She held her ground. She was different than most of the men's wives he knew. She stood out and people admired her. People admired him for having her for his own. He knew that.

He was in his office when he got a call from Matt. He was at the police station and needed to be picked up. This boy probably never asked for help a day in his life and he called him. Eric thought about Tami for second knowing he was skating on thin ice with her at the moment. But one of his boys needed him and she knew she would understand. She had to.

He dialed her cell phone.

"Hey, babe."

"Eric, I don't want to hear it. All you have to do is walk from your office up the stairs to the gymnasium."

"Saracen called and needs me to pick him up."

"Eric, I swear. You are pushing me to the limit this week."

"Tami, I can't just ignore…."

"Fine. Just go. You better not miss Julie on stage, Eric. I mean it."

"I love you." He said, meaning it more than she would ever know at that moment.

When he arrived at the hospital, Eric looked Matt over and felt immediate sorrow that, for even a split second, he thought about not being there for this kid.

" _Thank you, sir." Matt said as Eric signed some release forms._

" _I wouldn't get too excited. You and I are going to a dance recital." He thought about the timing on the way, but if he took Matt all the way home, he would never make it back to catch Julie on stage. Matt was just going to have to deal with it._

 _In the car, Eric started the conversation. He started with the obvious. "You want to tell me what happened?"_

" _Some of the Tigers' players wanted to know who trashed the QB's car."_

" _Why would they think you'd know about that?" He would have never guessed Saracen would have been involved. Riggins, yes. Smash, yes._

" _Because I was there."_

 _Eric had to ask, in fear this rivalry was going to never stop. "Did you name names?"_

" _No, sir. And with all due respect, still won't." He felt bad about a few things right now and not proud of himself. He imagined Coach was not proud of him either. "Look, I 'm sorry I put you on the spot the other night asking you about who you were going to start. It just seems the whole town wants you to make Tatum QB1. It even feels like my dad expects that." That statement pulled at Eric's heartstrings. How can his father not be proud of this kid? He works hard, he gets good grades, takes care of his grandmother and plays football. What more can this man expect from this kid?_

" _Listen, let me tell you something. Your dad is not able to see what I see. You're a different kid than you were two weeks ago."_

" _I am?"_

" _You are! You may have been happy sitting on the bench, letting Jason take the pressure…I don't know….I don't need to know. But I tell you what. I am a firm believer in you can do anything you put your mind to. And yourself? You? I believe you can do anything you put your mind to." Eric was looking at the road, but trying to catch Matt's eyes as well, making sure he was listening. Really listening._

" _You really believe that sir?" Matt didn't know why Coach was saying these things to him, but it was nice to hear. For once, someone believed in him. It was nice to get the approval he felt like he has been searching for over the past few years._

" _I do."_

" _Thanks for coming to get me."_

" _You're welcome."_

As they drove the rest of the way back to the school, Eric now understood Matt's confidence issues. He never had that positive male influence in his life. He never had the support of a male role model. Matt was shy and unsure of himself all the time. He and Matt were so very different that way. Eric always had confidence. His father built him up in every way. His father always believed in him At times, it may have been a little too much, but Eric never had to question his father's love. Eric knew his father always believed in him. Matt had none of that. It made him want to help this kid even more.

When they arrived at the school, and he spotted Tami about 10 rows back from the stage, he started making his way down that aisle. The great part about being married for so long was that they could have an entire conversation with their eyes.

His started with an apologetic look for being late and dragging Matt with him.

Hers were questioning, wondering what took so long and why Matt was here. Then she saw Matt's face. _"What happened?"_ Those words came out loud.

His eyes said not to ask any questions and that he would explain later.

Her eyes softened, feeling sorry for whatever did happen to Matt or her husband. She grabbed his hand, her anger relenting a bit.

After Julie's dance, they waited for a few more acts to go on before the show was over. Matt excused himself to the bathroom while Tami and Eric filed out of their row. "I want to talk to you. Let's go somewhere a little quiet." He held a serious tone, and it scared her a bit.

He led her backstage where all the dancers had cleared out. He led her to where the materials for sets to be built were stacked. He turned her around to face him, removed his hands from her shoulders and placed them on his hips. He stared into her eyes as he spoke. _"I was wrong. Alright? I was wrong." He bowed his head, took a brief look at his shoes._

" _Well, of course you were wrong." She said softly, not as mad as she was a few hours prior. She tightened her grip on the dance recital program as she continued. "I mean, you gave me no advance warning. And you just assume…"_

 _He cut her off. "No! Not about that." "Listen…" He leaned closer, placing one hand on the fake wooden staircase she was leaning against. "…I'm just….What I'm saying is…" He looked down at his shoes once again trying to formulate the words. After taking a moment to gather himself, he spoke again. "I know how hard it is what you do. I know it's not easy talking to those kids. I know it's difficult. And I know my job has put you through a hell of a lot. I understand that. "She smiled slightly, but he felt the need to keep going. "I just want to make sure you knew that I'm thankful for everything that you do. And I know you do a hell of a lot."_

" _Thank you." She said, completely softening. How could she not? He finally understood her anger. He understood where she was coming from and that was all she wanted. She wanted some recognition._

" _Friends?" He asked, wanting to be out of the dog house_

 _She giggled at him, but gave no response._

 _He took her hand and shook it as he moved his body closer. "Friends?" He asked again._

 _Her smile widened as she nodded, welcoming the closeness between them. He barely got out the next "Friends?" He captured her lips, loving how familiar she felt. "Friends?"_ He said again, parting his lips and leaning in further. He covered her body with his as he moved his hands to cover the top of her head. He teased her for a second, pushing his groin into hers, letting her know he was definitely aroused.

She pulled back from him, stared deep into his eyes and said "Friends." She gave him a quick kiss to seal the peace treaty. "We better get back out there. I want to make sure Julie is not looking for us."

He held her hand and tugged at it slightly so she would stop walking for a second. "Can we please finish this later? I really would like to fool around with you later."

When they mixed themselves amongst a crowd of proud friends and family, he thought back to Matt. He wondered if his dad had ever even seen him play football. He was shook from his thoughts as he spotted Julie. To be clearer, he spotted Julie with Matt, making her laugh. His mind started to race. How can he want to build this kid up one minute and tear him to shreds the next? Why was he that close to Julie?

 _Tami noticed the tightening in his muscles as he rubbed a hand across his face. 'What?" she asked. He looked back to where Matt and Julie were, watching them for another second before moving his hand to cover his mouth. "What?" She said, her tone more concerned. The entire conversation he had with Matt played through his mind. The conversation he had about girls and what he told Matt to do with those girls. Why was he talking to his girl? "What? What?" Tami asked again._

" _I think I told that kid to get our daughter in the backseat of a car."_

"What? Why would you do that?"

Julie came bouncing over, and they both knew their conversation would have to wait. As Eric embraced his daughter, telling her how proud he was of her, his eyes didn't shift from Matt. It was starting to all fit together. He now understood why Matt was so uncomfortable in his office. He did not want this to happen. He did not want his daughter's name even whispered in his locker room.

Tami and Julie dropped Matt home, while Eric gathered his things from his office. They arrived home within minutes of each other. Julie was already in her room for the night, as Eric went in search for Tami. He found her in their bedroom, washing her face and getting ready for bed.

She saw his reflection in the mirror and spun to face him. She looked at him expectantly.

"Is there something going on with Julie and Matt?" He asked her.

"I have no idea, but since you're the one with all the answers, maybe you should start talking."

He thought about how to word his thought process without completely agitating her to the point of no return. He spoke slowly and deliberately. "If that kid touches her, I am going to kill him." That's really not what he wanted to start out with. Images of Julie in the back seat of some old dilapidated car, with Matt on top of her drove him crazy. He didn't want his daughter being taken advantage of by some kid, let alone one of his boys he actually liked.

"Right now, you need to tell me what kind of advice you have been dispensing to your players."

"Tami, try to think back when we were young." That was what Eric did when he spoke to Matt. He didn't take into account his daughter would be any art of his equation. "Matt has been so tense out on the field. He can't seem to zone in and focus."

"So, what?" Tami knew where he was going with this, but it all didn't fit together. She knew how protective Eric was of Julie. "You tell him to use our daughter like you used the countless amount of rally girls and cheerleaders before Friday night games?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then what, Eric?"

"Well, I didn't even think of Julie when….."

"You didn't think at all."

"Listen, you don't know what goes on in that locker room. You talk to kids one way and I talk to them another. I relate to them differently."

'Why? Because you only threw the ball better if you had a blowjob the night before?"

Eric smirked. He couldn't help it, but he loved when Tami talked dirty like that. Plus, he knew the answer to her question was a resounding yes. Not that he wanted to think about it, but she had to remember her nights with Mo. She had to remember the nights with him during their college years.

Many years of marriage had given him the intelligence to not answer that with a 'yes.' "You know the true answer to that. "

She tried to hold back a smirk herself, but was a little unsuccessful.

He continued. "I wasn't telling Matt to be reckless and treat any young lady with disrespect. That kid has so much on his plate. I asked him if he had a girlfriend, told him to take her out. Yeah, the backseat of the car comment, I should have refrained from." His thoughts shifted. "But then he called me. He trusts me. He relied on me when he probably has never relied on anybody before a day I his life."

Tami got up from where sitting, walking over to where he was standing. "It feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." He simply stated. "You remember how tough my father was on me during my high school and college years?"

"Everyone knew how tough he was on you." Tami could remember hearing his father screaming at those games. It was mixture of positive and negative swirling around because he almost wanted it more than Eric.

"Well, this kid doesn't have one ounce of that. He has no support whatsoever."

"I love that you care about him so much." She said, giving him a slow, sweet peck on the lips.

"I was so angry that he was talking to Julie tonight, but you know what? He trusts me so, I have to trust him." He leaned in this time to kiss her. It was soft and quick, not sure where this was heading.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and initiated the next kiss. This one was little more desperate. He placed a hand on the back of her head, urging her to deepen the kiss. He open his mouth, waiting for her tongue to mesh with his. When she didn't engage, he knew she might have been feeling a bit insecure about the girls that were brought up earlier.

"You know, when we were in high school, all those girls meant nothing …"

She cut him off. "I know that. We were kids."

"That release I craved, was for just the release. Not for who helped me with the release." He lovingly kissed her again. "When we were in college, I wanted to be with you all the time. I wanted to make love to you all the time. My mind was always on you. I needed to give myself to you all those times because otherwise I would have been always thinking of you while I was playing. I would have gotten killed out there." He smiled, cupping her face, kissing her again.

She raised her hands to hold his, while he still cupped her face. "Eric, those girls weren't with you just because you were a football player. You are very attractive and you never really knew that. And now, women look at you, stare at you, gawk at you and you are clueless. And that makes you even more attractive to me." She kissed him, opening her mouth this time, letting his tongue find hers. He started walked her back toward the bed. She stopped when she felt the mattress hit the back of her knees, not wanting to fall backwards and make this easy for him.

"I only need to look at what is right in front of me. My eyes are clear and my heart is full. I will always stay focused right here." He held his stare a little longer, making sure she understood the weight of those words. He melted her, and she fell onto the bed, pulling him down with her.

 _ **-Please review. It only takes a second.**_


	5. Git 'Er Done

**Git 'Er Done**

 **Season 1 – Episode #5**

 **Disclaimer: Created by Peter Berg and beautifully written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman. All italics are theirs and flashbacks are mine. I own nothing, but if I did, I would have forced Kyle Chandler into making a movie!**

 _ **ICanStopAnytime**_ _ **– Thank you for your lengthy review. I always appreciate your words. I tend to agree with you about Tami & Eric's past. I just don't have as much fun writing it as I do with Eric being a playboy. From how Tami raises Julie, I like to imagine in my head that Tami made that one mistake with that popular guy, then went to Mo and then went to Eric. I just have a hard time believing someone of Eric's character would be with a total loose cannon like the show portrays Tami to be. Each take is fun to consider, but I enjoy writing it this way for some reason. I should also probably say keeping track of my flashbacks is such a challengerfor me sometimes. I could be as inconsistent as the darn show!**_

 _ **Naguabo**_ _ **– Thank you for the kind words.**_

" _ **Guests"**_ _ **– to all of you, I appreciate the reviews. They mean a lot and I am happy you are continuing forward. Please keep them coming.**_

 _ **A/N: This episode was another favorite of mine in season one. We got a lot of Tami and Eric and we can see the respect once again they have for each other just from that office conversation. Also, we see a flirty Tami which I love too! We don't see her too often.**_

It still amazed her. She wouldn't exactly call him famous, but in this town, everyone knew who he was. Everyone was constantly talking about him. Everyone wanted to know the inner workings of his mind. She would never get used to that. When you're a quarterback coach or a JV coach, you are totally in the shadows.

Not anymore.

She had the luxury of knowing exactly how his mind worked. She knew he would always take the risk for a reward that paid well. She didn't understand the intricate details of the game he analyzed, but she could read his mind better than anyone else.

So it shouldn't have surprised her that when Eric started the car, the first thing they heard on the radio was Sammy Meade's voice talking about Eric. The same debate over who Eric was going to start was spanning into a second week. Tami never tired of hearing how people made assumptions about her husband, but Julie did.

" _I found this national website listing of all these open high school coaching jobs."_

 _Tami turned around to look at Julie to gauge if she was telling the truth. "You did not?"_

" _There's one in Miami, there's another school in New York, there's even a head coaching job in Seattle, and it comes with a house on Puget Sound." She thought she pronounced it right, but her father quickly corrected her._

" _Puget Sound." He knew the letter "U" was long._

" _Puget Sound." She repeated, knowing she really didn't know what she was talking about. In fact, she was wondering how her father knew how to pronounce it._

" _Know what I heard once? I heard that a daughter is supposed to be a comfort and a blessing to her father." Eric continued, letting her know he was annoyed. What was with her not wanting to be here in Texas? She was born here. She should love it here._

" _Texas isn't even a state." Julie defended. "Technically, it's a republic. It would be nice to live somewhere that's actually a part of this planet."_

" _Do y'all think that they actually have football in Seattle?" Tami interjected._

" _Not the same thing." Eric knew Texas football was where it was at. If he wanted to coach college, he was in the right state. Fortunately, he was with the right team._

As they pulled into the school parking lot, Julie hurried out of the backseat. She didn't want to get into a deep conversation with her parents right now as she was walking into school. As Eric got out of the truck, he turned his head toward Julie's form walking away from him. His eyes then focused on Tami, across the hood of the car, watching her gather her work bag and to-go coffee mug. When Tami didn't seem fazed by Julie's comments, he spoke up. "Why is she looking at those websites?"

Without looking up, she tried to make a joke. "Because she hates us?"

"I'm serious. Since when does she hate living here? Since when does she hate Texas so much?"

Tami took in Eric's concerned look, shut her passenger side door and walked in front of the car, stopping by the driver's side mirror. Eric stepped away, opening the back door on his side to gather his briefcase. She waited for him to start walking toward the school. "She's a teenager."

More annoyed at that comment, he walked past her and headed toward the back door of the school. They always parked there because it was closest entrance to his office. He started to open the door, but heard her call his name. He turned around, waiting for her to speak.

"She is pushing us Eric. She wants to call the shots. She's feeling us out. She needs to be heard, not dismissed."

"I didn't dismiss her." How did his little girl, who used to love everything about her life and had a smile that lit up an entire galaxy, turn into this cynical, challenging person? "I just don't understand how she suddenly is a different person."

"She's growing up and…" She thought about how to say the next part without driving him mad. "…..and hormonal. This is what's going to happen now."

"From here on out? She's going to have an attitude at every pass?"

Tami shrugged her shoulders. "Get used to it."

Eric frustration only grew when he spoke to VooDoo in his office later that day. He wanted to do the right thing and formulate some sort of working relationship with this kid. He always had the ability to break a kid down to trust him, but this seemed to be a lost cause. The conversation ended with a slap of disrespect right in his face. He needed to figure out a way to start Saracen because starting VooDoo would be condoning his behavior.

He left his office with Julie a little bit early, needing a change of scenery. As they waited for Tami to meet them at Applebee's for dinner, he started to use napkins as certain plays were coming to his mind. As he used his marker, the black ink seeping ideas onto the beige canvas, Julie's eyes were glued into her book. He didn't see Tami walk in or the admirer's eyes that followed her to where he was sitting. He took a bite of an appetizer he and Julie agreed on, as he heard her voice.

" _Oh boy, you're drawing up plays." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Without a care in the world, she started to gather them with hand, thumbing them into her grip. "Thank you. Thank you."  
_

" _Uh-Uh." He looks at her incredulously, as he chewed his food._

" _We're having dinner." She took the napkins, folded them in half and placed them down the front of her shirt. She tucked them underneath the front clip of her bra. That front clip provided the cleavage she loved to tease him with. She loved to tease him with her words as well. "You can forage for them later."_

He was stunned as his mouth fell open as she started to shove the napkins in one of his favorite places. Her words caused him to feel a twinge in his pants and he couldn't keep the smirk off his face. He would have said something back, their playful words always a big part of their relationship, but Julie was sitting right across from him. He noticed she was half paying attention when Tami shoved the napkins down her shirt and she looked up from her book. He figured he would spare her the humiliation and not draw attention to the fact that her parents had a very healthy sex life.

During dinner Julie saw her friend Lois across the dining room and asked her parents to be excused so she can go talk to her. Once she got up from the table, Tami asked him how his day was and he told her about what went on in his office with VooDoo. As much as he was trying to focus on something else, his mind was on those napkins, and not because of the plays drawn on them.

Julie came back over and asked if she can go out with Lois' family for ice cream. Tami was uncertain to let her daughter go with people she just met, but Eric made the decision for the both of them. Partially, Eric wanted Julie to make a friend so she wouldn't hate Texas anymore, but his decision was made for much more selfish reasons.

Tami compromised, met Lois's family and did a quick screening to make sure her daughter was in good hands. She made a mental note to look up Lois' file when she got to work in the morning.

When she got back to the table, Eric had gotten the bill and was signing the credit card receipt. Instead of lifting his eyes to meet hers, he tried to search for those napkins.

"Eyes up here." She scolded.

"I need those plays." He said, trying to use football to get what he desperately wanted. "I'm working hard over here trying to formulate a plan for Friday."

"We are having dinner."

"We finished dinner." His eyes quickly danced lower before coming back up.

"I'm not giving them up so easily, ya know?" She said with a teasing smile.

He couldn't help but smile back, thinking back to when they were just finishing high school and going to college in the fall. "You never did."

 _They started dating right before high school ended, but nobody knew it. Tami wanted it that way. She didn't feel comfortable having everyone gossip about her dating another football player after getting out of a two-year relationship with Mo. It ended poorly and Tami was devastated and humiliated. Tami's mother made sure she gave her the "I told you so" lecture at least once a week as she wallowed in self-pity. She felt like the rug had been pulled from beneath her._

 _Tami prided herself of being smart – street smart at the very least. The actual cheating didn't bother her as much as that she didn't figure it out immediately. She was so blinded. That is what got to her more. Somebody played her for the fool and she thought she would never get over that._

 _She resolved to be better, smarter and stronger once she pulled herself out of the hole she dug herself into for months. Eric was there for her but she didn't trust him right away. His track record of the amount of girls he hooked up with was enough of a reason to be wary. To be burned just months earlier by Mo was enough to want to keep her new relationship a secret. Besides, they were leaving for college in a few short months so who knew what was going to happen._

 _That summer was the best of her life. She was falling for Eric, and daily she was becoming more and more confident he was falling for her too. She refused to have sex with him, fearful that he would humiliate her the way Mo did. Better, smarter, stronger, she kept telling herself. So she made him wait._

 _And he did. But he always had to try. He would often remove articles of clothing from her and she would let him undress her top half, but rarely her bottom half. She always helped him to release, but she was very protective of her most intimate of areas. She thought about giving in before they went their separate ways embarking on their collegiate adventure, but she knew she would be giving in more than wanting to._

 _Eric was headed Texas A & M to play for the Aggies. His full scholarship, plus the exposure that school had to the NFL made Eric's decision easy. Tami struggled. She wanted to be close to Eric, but knew she couldn't make a life decision based on him. She decided to compromise. She chose Texas Southern in Houston because it had a good education and psychology program and it was only 90 minutes from Eric. _

_It was her second visit to A &M, when she finally decided it was time. They seemed to have figured out how to do the long distance thing, she let all her walls down and trusted him whole-heartedly and she really wanted to share this with him. She was ready. _

_It was Sunday morning and Tami had to drive back to Houston. She came on Friday, watched him play Saturday and was planning on leaving at some point on Sunday. It was his suggestion to go to the lake. Eric chose it because it was secluded and he wanted the privacy to say goodbye to her. After her first visit, he felt his eyes water a little in a parking lot where students were walking to and from the dorm. He didn't want anyone to see him like that. Anyone, but Tami._

 _They laid in the bed of his pick-up truck, holding one another and trying to say goodbye. Their kisses became deeper and their hands roamed each other, their forms feeling more and more familiar to one another. Eric made sure they were completely alone as he started to kiss her neck and move his lips downward. His fingers played with the hem of her shirt, before lifting it completely over her head. He loved her chest._

 _She moaned into his ear, spurring him to push his hardened groin into her so she could feel him. She pulled his face up from her breasts and kissed him deeply, their tongues dueling a familiar dance they perfected over the past 5 months. She reached for his crotch, loving that she had that effect on him. As she stroked him over his jeans, he moaned audibly._

 _She felt his warm breath on her ear, a sensitive spot she wasn't even aware she had until that moment. She raised her butt off the blanket so her groin can touch his, craving to feel that hardness once again. When he pushed into her again, the friction of their clothes getting in the way, she was the one to moan this time. She reached between them, founded the button and zipper and undid both. She reached her right hand beneath the elastic of his boxers and found what she was looking for. She moved her hand up and down, circling her thumb around his tip. "Oh God, Tami…" It was all he could get out._

 _He knew she had limits but he would always try. He unbuttoned her jeans, and she didn't stop him. She'd let him in there with his hands a few times in the past and his mouth twice. He slid the zipper all the way down, the sound rasping through the breezy air on that fall day. She didn't stop him. He pushed her jeans all the way down from her hips and dipped his hand in the matching panties that accompanied her bra. He inserted two fingers, watching her arch her back, pushing her breasts toward him. She took her free hand and placed it behind his head pulling him closer to her. She needed to kiss him. As he pulsated his fingers in and out of her, she didn't stop him._

 _He decided what his next move was and it did not involve stopping. He expected her to do that for him. He knew she wanted to wait. She thanked him constantly for being so patient. He removed his fingers from her, and decided to take a chance. He moved his hand to the very thin, very lacy elastic and slowly tugged downward. She didn't stop him. He shifted his body for second so he could reach the jeans and now panties pooling at her ankles and slowly started to remove them from her completely. She had her eyes closed, enjoying how it felt to be undressed, letting him see her fully in the daylight for the first time._

 _Once she was lying there in nothing but her bra, she opened her eyes to find him looking at her questioningly. When she didn't stop him, he finally spoke up. "I play offense. You play defense. That's the game we usually play."_

 _She smiled, loving that he was hesitant. "This isn't a game, Eric."_

 _He took a deep breath trying to maintain some sort of composure. "I don't know how to play defense, Tami. Not with you."_

" _Ok." She said, taking her hands, cupping his face and pulling him toward her. She kissed him deeply, as her hands started to push down his jeans and boxers._

 _He thought he was in a dream and was going to wake up any second. He pulled back away from her to make sure this was real. "Okay?" He asked._

" _You're the quarterback. Call the play."_

 _He leaned back down and she felt his bare dick against her, and it suddenly became real. She was about to say something about protection, but Eric stopped what he was doing reaching for his wallet in his jeans. As he tore open the square wrapper he carried in his wallet, sheathed himself and he leaned back down against her. She once again felt his tip at her entrance. He needed to tell her what he was thinking. "This is what I'm calling. I call that no one has ever made me as happy as you make me. I call that I never knew I could be with someone in so many other ways without having sex. I call that I think about you every hour of every day. I call that I was so damn scared that we were going to be apart and this wasn't going to work out. I call that I need you Tami in so many ways, not just this one."_

 _He pushed into her slowly, looking into her eyes as he went deeper and deeper. Once he was all the way in, he asked her if she was alright. He waited for her to adjust to him._

" _I'm great." She never knew sex could be like this. She never knew it could be this emotional. She nodded, giving him the cue to start._

 _He set their rhythm and it wasn't too fast but it wasn't painfully slow either. She loved watching him lose control completely, his expressions reserved just for her. "God,Tami…" He got out in between breaths. "…you have no idea what you do to me." After he released, he rolled off of her, but didn't want this moment to end. After removing the condom and pulling his boxers back on, he held her in his arms. "Now, you are going to get up and leave me, aren't ya?"_

 _She laughed. "You know I have to get back."_

" _Are you okay? I don't want you to leave and not be okay." He knew she would be worth the wait, but he had concerns. He knew this wasn't his best performance. "I know it could have been better, longer." He started to struggle with the words. "You just took me by surprise. You make me lose all sorts of control."_

 _Tami couldn't believe this side of him. "Eric, don't lose your confidence now. It's your sexiest trait."_

They drove home separately and all Eric could think about was how sexy she was. He waited for her in the hallway, and as she opened the front door, he met her in the foyer with lightning speed. She stepped inside closing the door behind her. He placed a hand behind her head pulling her toward him, devouring her mouth into his. He rushed her backwards, her back slamming against their front door, his swollen groin crushing into her pubic bone.

"Call your play." She said teasingly, as she broke the kiss.

He smirked. "I can't. I don't have them."

"Come and get them, sugar." She said. He moved his lips to her chest, digging for his plays. The shirt she was wearing was not cooperating. She laughed out loud while he struggled a bit.

He pulled back, keeping his eyes focused on hers as he undid his buckle, button and zipper. "I don't need those plays." He kept a straight face and he slid down his pants and boxers just enough to expose himself to her. She arched an eyebrow as he started to slide her skirt upwards. "I call that you are going to get it right here against this door."

Before she could protest, his lips were back on hers while his hands worked on pulling her panties down just enough. He plunged into her hard, a moan escaping both their mouths. As their hips met each other's, he spoke between the heavy breathing. "Get loud Tami. We're alone." They rarely had the house to themselves and Eric intended to take full advantage of that.

Afterwards, Tami relented and gave Eric the napkins. "You don't really deserve those, you know?"

The next few days proved challenging to Eric. He always barked at his players, the young boys he was trying to mold into men of strong character. He rarely argued with his colleagues. When he was a JV coach, he never disrespected the head coach, his boss. Today, he had words with Mac and he hated it. He wasn't going to let this guy walk all over him, but he still hated it.

He wasn't rotating Matt in with the first team. Mac pretended he heard Eric was going to start VooDoo. He knew that he never said that, because deep down, he still had no idea what he was going to do. He wasn't going to let Mac get away with that. _"I think you said that and I said 'thanks for the opinion coach'"._ Hopefully Mac would get the hint. He was the head coach. He was making the decisions for the team.

Tami's day wasn't much easier. She met with Lyla in her office to talk to her about her future. A straight-A student with so many options and she had not even thought about herself. She was planning her entire life around Jason. She wasn't going to even fully enroll in college full time until Jason got settled at Notre Dame. What was she thinking?

Tami knew what she was thinking because she remembers being in a very similar situation. Lyla was in love with Jason and was planning her whole life around him. It wasn't in their plans for Jason to get hurt. Now, Lyla had no plan for herself and Tami wanted to make her understand that she needed to start thinking about it.

At Lyla's age Tami was much more independent. Yes, her grades weren't the greatest, but her friendship with Eric helped pull herself out of the academic hole she dug. Eric believed in her and, in-turn, she started believing in herself. When Tami was deciding on where to attend college in the fall, Eric made it clear what he expected.

" _I want you close to me."_

" _Eric, I can't get into A & M. You know that."_

" _What about Blinn? What about Remington?"_

" _What about my wants and needs, Eric?" Up until this point Tami was thinking Austin, San Antonio or Dallas. She wanted to be in a big city. She started to consider Houston when Eric signed with the Aggies._

" _I want to be your wants and needs." He stated. He thought she wanted the same._

" _I am considering Houston. Texas Southern has a good program and I've been accepted there."_

" _That's still too far. We won't be able to see each other during the week, or most weekends when I am playing." He wanted this to work with Tami, but he was afraid. He was never in a long-term committed relationship before, and now that he was, she wanted to throw 90 miles in the middle of it. He had serious concerns._

 _She felt sympathetic, but knew the reality of the situation. "I don't know how else to say this, so I am just going to say it." She took a moment to process her thoughts so she can say what she wanted without hurting in him. She wanted him to believe in her, believe in them. "If I go to Texas Southern, that's close enough for us to maintain this. It's not going to be easy, I know that. But if we are committed to each this, really committed to it, then it will work. I can't base my entire life on you right now. I need to make some decisions for myself." She knew if it wasn't for Mo and the way he hurt her, she would never have had the strength to stand up for herself._

" _It's not going to easy. It's going to be really hard." He said, giving in, a little bit._

" _I know, but I believe if things are meant to be, then those things have a way of coming back around. Besides, I have a strange feeling I am going to be following you for the rest of our lives once you get drafted." It was the first time either of them brought up a possible long-term future together. "Let me follow my own dream now, Eric."_

She needed to get her point across to Lyla that she needed to follow her own dreams.

Later that evening, she found Eric in his office with his shoeless feet up on the desk, his socks starch white. She knew he changed his socks. He had a thing about his socks. After practice, he always changed out of his practice sneakers and put on a clean pair of socks. She knew him too well sometimes.

Eric was pissed. He had words again with Mac. The truth seeped out of Mac's mouth and slapped him right in his face. It was a truth he knew and was trying to bury since Jason got hurt. He didn't deserve this job _. "The way I see it, you're sitting in my chair."_ Mac was supposed to get the head coaching job if it weren't for the Streets and their influence with the boosters. _"You pull it together."_

Tami was annoyed. Seeing her husband with his feet up watching game tape, his personal stuff scattered all around his desk, she knew there was no way he was close to coming home. He hadn't been home for the past two nights – not since that night against the front door.

 _She knocked lightly to get his attention. When his eyes didn't move from the television that brought her level of anger to an even higher level. She started to chew her gum a little harder so maybe he would hear it and actually turn around. "Just wanted to know if you were coming home for dinner tonight?" She leaned her body against the frame of his office door._

" _I don't think I'm going to be home for dinner tonight." Again, his eyes were still focusing on the television._

" _Your daughter was asking for a picture of you and so I thought you'd like to weigh in…" She knew bringing up Julie and his lack of presence in her life would hurt him._

" _Don't do that. That's not funny. Don't do that." He hated when she took digs at him. That was a cheap shot._

 _Tami suddenly felt bad. She could hear the regret in his voice. He wanted to see his daughter and spend time with the both of them. This was another time when she realized she knew him well. She walked in and took a seat across from him, putting her bag on the floor and binders on his desk. "I'd sure would love to see ya."_

 _Eric softened at her comment. He didn't want to fight with her too. He didn't have the strength right now. "How was your day today?" He finally looked at her._

" _Alright."_

" _Yeah?"_

" _How was yours?"_

 _His eyes focused back to the television. "If you listen to the TV or the radio, I'm the coach who can't get the decision made. Can't make a decision." He started to sway his feet back and forth in frustration._

" _Can I help you make the decision?"_

" _Sure, go ahead. Make the decision, hon. What's your decision? You make the call." How the hell was she supposed to help him with this? His voice was filled with a mix of annoyance and sarcasm._

" _Start Saracen." It was simple and direct._

" _Start Saracen? I cannot start Matt Saracen." Eric knew Matt would struggle to play to the ability of their opponent._

" _Start VooDoo." Tami gave him the only other option. It seemed simple to her._

" _I don't want to start VooDoo." He hated that kid. She knew that._

" _Start me." She said, trying to get him to smile. She just wanted to take the edge off._

 _He laughed, a real genuine laugh. God, he loved her. "I would love to start you. I'd love to start you." He looked in her eyes, thanking her without words for the joke he so desperately needed. His mind started to drift in the ways he'd like to start her, but Tami pulled him back to his dilemma._

" _Well, you know, it seems to me here that, at this point, there's not going to be a decision that's going to feel good. So the good news is, you can make the decision, and come on home and have dinner with your family. See your kid."_

 _He paused the game tape, throwing the remote on his desk. He threw his head back, closed his eyes, and rested his hands on top of his head. "Problem is, I just got a little slight problem being that one, Matt Saracen is what's good for the team. The team will play for Matt Saracen. There's no doubt about that. He's done everything I've asked him to do. He's left it all on that field. No problem. I trust the kid, he trusts me." Tami nodded, as Eric continued. "This kid VooDoo, I don't like the kid one. Two, I don't trust the kid, but three I believe he can get it done for us. I believe he can win this game for us. That's it, that's it right there."_

" _Sounds to me like you made your decision coach."_

"How the hell am I going to break this kid's heart?" Eric thought out loud, hoping Tami had the answer.

"You have to be honest with him. The truth hurts sometimes, but wouldn't you rather know it than not?" She knew Eric was a straight shooter. He would always pick honesty.

"I'm going to lose all the trust I built with this kid."

"Not if you're honest, Eric. You have to do what feels right. You have to go with your gut."

"My father always used to say that."

"I know."

"He always would yell it. 'Eric, stop thinking out there. Go with your gut.'" Eric's father taught him a lot of life lessons, but this one always stuck.

"You said it too, a few times." She said with a smile, remembering a time when Eric tried to get her to come back to him.

 _After they broke up, it took Tami awhile to pull herself together and gain some sort of semblance of her life. It was the first time she was grateful that she was in Houston and he was in College Station. It was easier this way. There were no run-ins on campus or out at parties or in bars downtown. She didn't want to see him. She couldn't face him so the distance was a good thing._

 _She thought he was being stupid, selfish and immature. He was injured and although she understood how that was going to drastically change their future, she still wanted a future with him. He couldn't accept it and move forward with her. He wanted to figure out how to move in a different direction without her. She was blind-sided, but she would always remember from her break-up with Mo to be better, smarter and stronger._

 _It took a few months. She would be lying if she said she wasn't devastated. She drowned herself in school work, but she also partied. She figured if she worked hard, she could party hard. Her bi-monthly visits to College Station weren't eating up her weekends anymore, so she had time to go to parties, meet new people and date other guys._

 _Eric took the complete opposite approach. He drowned himself in sorrow and self-pity. It wasn't until he had a conversation with his father that helped him realize he needed to get his life back on track. It wouldn't be the professional life he dreamed of, but he could still have the personal life he dreamed of with Tami._

" _Son, it's over. I get that. Nobody feels sorrier about that than me. I know you're hurting, but you still have a life to live."_

" _What's point, dad? I'm going to graduate and do what? Teach? You and I both know I wasn't planning on doing anything with my degree."_

" _Football can always be a part of your life, Eric. You can go to the NFL someday, but it just won't be as a player."_

" _And setltle?" He asked, not believing his father was going to be okay with that._

" _Not settle. Find a new dream. Professionally, most people alter their dreams. Professionally is not the part of your life I am worried about." When Eric didn't respond, his father continued. "Have you spoken to Tami?"_

" _Dad, I don't want to get into this with you. I said some things I can't take back. It's over." He was devastated and his father knew it._

" _Everyone says things they regret at one time or another. You can always fix it. You can always try."_

 _Eric thought about it for a second, and then dismissed it. "You know Tami, Dad. She is not likely going to forgive me."_

" _You're not going to get what you want professionally Eric. That part of your life has to be shifted, but personally?" He asked, "What do you dream of?"_

" _I dream of her." He admitted, a little embarrassed in front of his hard-ass father. This was longest Eric had gone without sex. It had been 4 months of nothing. He hooked up with girls to pass the time, but he couldn't bring himself to have sex with anyone else. In the back of his mind, he knew if he did, all bets with Tami would be completely off. He would never gain that trust back._

" _Then go get her!"_

 _Eric thought his Dad was crazy. "What? Just show up and ask her to take me back?"_

" _Yes! It's what you do. You go with your gut and follow it, see where it takes you. You just have to trust yourself. You'd be surprised how far you get."_

 _So he took his father's advice, and did exactly that. It took weeks, but to him, felt like a lifetime. When she finally caved, he used those words to her. "I'm going with my gut Tami, and I'm asking you to come along for the ride. My head and my heart are all in right now and not going to waver, never again. My gut is telling me that you can't resist it either. The life we planned, with or without the NFL, is going to be a great life. I want you to be a part of that life."_

He did exactly that. He listened to Tami and talked to Matt. He spoke at the pep rally letting everyone know how important the fourth quarter was to him. He hoped he would get Matt in the game by then with a solid lead. As Tami met him by the bus after the rally, she gave him a quick peck on the lips. She drew him in close and whispered in his ear to remind him of their conversation. "Make sure you do what feels right in here." She touched left side of his chest. "Never go against your gut."

During the game, Tami watched her husband closely while the clock on the scoreboard ticked away. She saw the frustration playing in Eric's mind. The team was not playing for VooDoo as he suspected. They were pissed he started him over Matt. VooDoo completely lost his temper on the sidelines, knocking over water coolers and throwing his helmet. On his field, Eric would not allow this. It would have to wait for halftime.

Eric's frustration grew to a new level when Tami heard him yelling from the sidelines. " _Hit him. Hit him! He's wide open, hit him!"_ She can see the confusion all over Eric's face and quickly realized that VooDoo was calling his own plays. After a few more minutes, VooDoo just walks away from Eric as he's yelling once again. Eric starts to pace down the sideline, and she knows he is pissed. The look of anger, mixed with frustration plays on his features as he laughs out loud at himself for the stadium to see because he's been fooled. He's been fooled by this punk and Buddy Garrity.

Go with your gut.

He thought he near damn lost his mind in that locker room. He threw VooDoo out and turned the ball over to Matt.

Matt held his own out there and they were now in the fourth quarter _. "Listen to me. We are going to run this team ragged. You can lead this team. Lead them now. Bring it home." Eric believed in Matt. He trusted Matt would work his hardest._

 _The game was within one point and he could have gone for an easy tie and walk away from this nightmare. Things never did come easily, so he called Matt back over to him. "Turn around son. What do you see out there?"_

" _We got them right where we want them."_

" _We're gonna go for two. What do you think?" In that moment Eric knew they were going to work out well together. If Matt just used his instincts, what he lacked in raw talent would be made up in pressure decisions._

In the end they won the game and Tami ran to him with opened arms. She could see the relief wash over him. As they walked off the field together, she whispered, "Good call, Coach. You went with your gut." He kissed the top of her head, as they made their way toward the school.

As he was about to enter the building, they said their goodbyes. "I have post game chat and interviews. See you when I get home."

When he did arrive home, she was already in bed. The house was dark, but a light filtered from their bedroom. When he pushed the door open, he found her sitting up against the pillows, reading in bed.

He pulled his polo shirt over his head as he continued to walk in their bedroom. He kicked off his shoes and started unbuckling his belt, his eyes focused on her. When she didn't look up at him, he threw his shirt at her, hitting the book just right to cover her pages. She moved the shirt, her eyes not daring to look at him.

Shirtless, he put his hands on his hips, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence. When she wouldn't give him the satisfaction, he spoke. "My gut is telling me to come over there."

"My gut is telling me you better take a shower first."

He smiled, loving where this night was headed. "My gut is telling me we're going for two tonight."

Surprised by his boldness, her eyes met his and she gave him a true genuine laugh this time.

They didn't "go for two" as Eric referred to it. They rarely did. They gave in to exhaustion after a playful round of love making. When Tami woke up in the morning she made her way to the kitchen, letting Eric sleep in a little.

Julie was sitting at the kitchen counter listening to her mother talk as Eric waltzed in with a little skip in his step. Today, he woke up a winner and this town was going to love him for that. Today, was going to be a good day. _"Hey, you know what I like about me?"_

 _Tami laughed at his words as she poured him a cup of coffee. "That you're married to someone as fantastic as me?" She felt his arms circle her waist._

" _That is what I like. Hey, good morning." He kissed the side of her head._

 _Tami knew his good mood was not only because of his win last night. Men are such simple creatures. "Good morning cheerful!" She joked._

" _Thank you for doing that." He was referring to the coffee._

" _You're welcome."_

 _He moved his head to the other side, lowering his voice to a seductive tone. "Tonight, what do ya say we go grab some dinner…"_

"' _Uh- huh. I like that." She said as she walked toward the counter to retrieve the lid for him. He kept his arms around her waist, walking with her._

"… _then we'll go catch a movie…"_

 _Julie looks up disgustedly, their close proximity to each other, causing alarm._

" _Okay."_

" _Then we'll…" He lowers his voice and suggestively says, "…do a little dance."_

" _Oh really?" She put down the mug on the counter. She instinctively raised her left hand to stroke the side of his face as he gently nuzzles his nose in her hair. She tilts her face up, his lips catching hers._

 _Julie stands quickly, to stop what's happening in front her. She holds her arm out, trying to stop them, clearly not the first time this has happened to her. "Okay. Okay! Wait! Wait!" She holds her pointer finger in the air, like an elementary school teacher. "Inappropriate. Inappropriate."_

 _Eric started swaying his hips, bring Tami's along with his, continuing to speak seductively in her ear. Now, it's done more to get Julie riled up. "Get down tonight. Get down tonight"_

" _I'm eating breakfast. Inappropriate."_

 _Tami feigns shock, acting as if his behavior is no fault of her own. "We're gonna get down tonight." Eric goes on._

 _Julie gets up from her seat and leaves the kitchen, not wanting to see this anymore._

 _He kisses her ear, as she giggles. "That's what I'm talking about. Get down tonight."_

He pulls away and mentions that he will see her later after the meeting. He gives her one more peck, tells her he loves her, and starts to walk away.

He stops, and makes his way back to the kitchen, quickly glancing down the hall to make sure Julie is out of earshot. "I'm not finished with you. We didn't win our game last night. We didn't go for two." He kissed her again. She loved his playful mood because it was reserved for her. "Tonight, I'm scoring that extra point." He kissed her once again, before leaving.

His happiness lasted a total of thirty minutes. This town was in love with him. Handshakes at the gas station and pats on the back as he arrived at the school only lasted a short time. His frustration came back full-force as Buddy introduces him to two gentleman from District Executive Committee with some questions regarding VooDoo's eligibility.

The meeting with VooDoo in that motel room with Buddy came flooding back from his memory into the forefront of his brain. He didn't want to lie to these men. He didn't want to lie to anyone. That's not who he was. It was always something when he was involved with Buddy Garrity.

Go with your gut, he remembers.

 _ **-Please review. It really does make a difference.**_


	6. El Accidente

**El Accidente**

 **Season 1 – Episode #6**

 **Disclaimer: Carter Harris wrote this episode. Italics are his and my flashbacks.**

 _ **To all the "guest" reviewers:**_ _ **Thank you for taking the time to review. I do try and update as often as I can, but there is so much transcribing that has to be done before I start actually writing each chapter. I promise that I do my best. I also loved writing the offense/defense line as well. I am so glad you can see the flow between the flashbacks and how it relates to the episode. I find that sometimes it seems rigid and I hope the reader understands that flow.**_

 _ **ICanStopAnytime :**_ _ **Your lengthy reviews make my day. Thanks for taking the time to pull out your favorite parts and pose questions to other parts.**_

 _ **Naguabo:**_ _ **Thanks for the review. I hope it blends well.**_

 _ **A/N: This episode didn't give us a whole lot of Tami and Eric so my apologies if it doesn't hold up as well next to the previous ones I have written. I wonder if this is because Peter Berg does not have any listed credits in this episode and it translates on-screen. I apologize if it comes off choppy, but it was really hard to bridge the scenes.**_

As soon as Eric got home from practice on Monday, he took a seat in his recliner. Word spread quickly about the Panthers being under investigation over VooDoo and his eligibility. He didn't even eat dinner or take off his pullover windbreaker. He kissed Tami and Julie hello, sat down and turned on the television.

The reporter was starting to scare him. Not only would he be stripped of the win, but VooDoo would never be able to play varsity athletics again. As he took off his cap, he massaged his temple, trying to rub the stress out. As much as he disliked VooDoo, he never intended to ruin that kid's career. This town was going to want to hang him. One day he was a hero, the next, a cheater.

Eric wasn't sure what happened when he was at practice the next day. He heard some of his boys whispering about some fight, but he wasn't really sure who was involved. He knew those kids didn't realize he heard almost everything that went on with his team. He liked to keep it that way. He rarely interrupted, knowing that was how a team formed some sort of camaraderie. He rarely got involved, knowing if he did, they would start to hide themselves from him. Eric didn't always like what he heard on that grass or in the locker room, but he always wanted to hear it. He always wanted to know what was going on with his boys.

When the police car pulled up, his first instinct was to become defensive. He didn't need another incident ruining his or his boys' reputation. It was bad enough that there were spectators present watching the whole thing go down. He tried to minimize the situation unfolding in front of him.

" _Ron, you don't have to use the handcuffs. Hell! Come on. Where's he gonna go?"_ As they cuffed his star defensive player, Eric followed them off the field. He turned to look back and locked eyes with Matt. He was expecting him to look shocked at what happened, but instead, Mat looked away, putting his head down. Eric knew Matt knew what happened.

Tami was dealing with frustrations of her own. She had Tyra in her office, trying to figure out how the hell this girl was going to graduate. It was her job to make sure she understood the severity of the situation. Tyra didn't seem to care, stating that her plan was to take the G.E.D. and head to California. Tami wanted Tyra to see that she could have more. She tried to explain that they were similar, recalling her own high school days.

" _I was just like you. I was the pretty girl in school. I was terrible in math. I got myself through it." Eric helped her, but Tyra didn't need to know that. Although they were just friends, Eric always encouraged her, challenged her to be her best self._

" _I don't want to be you Mrs. Taylor."_

 _Tami knew what Tyra meant. She couldn't help but laugh at the immaturity of that statement. Tyra thought she could do better, be better._

" _I don't want to stay here, stuck in a small town, in a job like this, married to a coach."_

 _Tami could have easily defended the great life she built with Eric over the years, but knew it would have been wasted. "Tyra, it's your choice. If you want to go off and take the G.E.D., fine. But you better bring me proof that you did it."_

As if Tami wasn't frustrated enough, Tami was in her office when Kurt Castor's mother came in to retrieve her son's school work. This was the boy who was assaulted and hospitalized by one of Eric's players. She started making comments about the Bobby Reyes, the football team and, by default, her husband. This woman felt strongly that Eric was going to let his player slide and that he would be back on the football team by the end of the week. Tami knew when she took this job, she and Eric would have "interaction" as Eric called it. Mrs. Castor had a very good point and Tami could not defend Eric. She truly didn't know how Eric was going to handle this situation. Defending an action she was not sure he would take was not something she was about to do. She made it clear that she understood her concerns and that football did not overrule the hurt her family is dealing with, but it didn't seem like enough. She needed to make sure Eric understood the severity of this. He could not let Reyes get away with what he did.

Eric decided the best way to approach this problem was to gather as much information as possible. He called Smash, Matt and Riggins into his office. He needed to hear the story from his boys. After getting nothing out of them, he warned them to be leaders of his team. The whole community is watching them. _"From now on, when you're out, you hear something, you see something, you're going to stop it."_ He didn't care if they beat the crap out of each other, but it makes him look bad when an innocent kid gets hurt because of the uncontrollable temper of one of his boys. _"Are we clear?"_

" _Yes sir."_

" _Good. That's all I have to say"_

Eric thought back to his own football team in high school and remembered how his coach gave him a similar speech. He was quite clear on the fact that under no circumstance was he or any of his teammates to get into a physical fight with someone – especially someone that wasn't on the team. As a kid, he always thought his coach didn't want any of his players getting hurt and ruin his plans for Friday night. As an adult and as the coach, there was a completely different way of looking it at it.

 _They just beat Arnett Meade in the quarter-finals and it was definitely time to party. When Eric emerged from the back bedroom of the random house they were at, he noticed that everyone was well on their way to getting drunk. He just spent the last hour and a half circling the sexual bases with Laura, his rally girl. He was currently unattached, letting go of his previous girlfriend when they made the playoffs. He knew how to play the game, knowing the closer they got to state the more girls would be willing to put out. He needed to shed the boyfriend-girlfriend status quick. He never hung on to it too long anyway._

 _When he went to grab his first beer from the kitchen, he overheard a few guys talking about some girl. "She's got the most amazing body. I'd love to cum all over those tits." Instinctively, Eric's eyes followed theirs to the couch, where Tami was seated on Mo's lap. They were kissing intermittently and laughing occasionally when Mo said something funny._

 _Eric turned his attention back to the guys, who looked like stoners and definitely not football players. "Watch yourself." Eric warned. Although he and Mo weren't the best of friends, he was still his teammate and that was a bond that couldn't be broken. "You can see she's taken."_

" _Please, Taylor! Like that's ever stopped you." They commented. This pissed Eric off, but he knew to always remain cool. These guys didn't know him. "You just got yours back there." The first guy said, nodding his head toward the bedrooms down the hallway. "It's not your night to challenge Mo for a shot at her." The second guy said._

" _She's not for taking shots at." Before he could say another word, Laura was by his side. She pulled him by the collar, dragging him out of the kitchen and away from that situation. She kissed him as she walked him over to the couch that Mo and Tami were sitting at. She pushed him playfully back as he pulled her down with him. Tami and Mo laughed as Mo leaned up to give Eric a high five._

 _Mo and Eric spent the next twenty minutes talking about the possibility of going to State and how this was going to open all sort of college doors for them. The girls listened, but also conversed on their own. Noticing Tami's empty cup, Mo got up but was a little unsteady on his feet. "Want a refill babe?"_

" _Sure." Tami said as she held her cup to him. Eric took notice that those stoners were still in the kitchen as Mo walked away._

 _Laura started to ask Tami why she hasn't joined the rally girls yet. "You and Mo have been together almost a year now. I'm sure you already fulfilled all the required duties." She joked._

 _Eric couldn't help but smirk. For some reason, he liked to think of Tami that way, even if it was with Mo._

" _What are you smirking at?" She challenged._

 _Eric put his hands up in defense laughing as he spoke. "Nothing. I'm not saying anything." Eric knew more things about Tami than he should. Mo was not shy about telling guys about what went on between them. He sometimes wondered if it was all true._

" _Tami, look at that smile. I don't know one girl that could resist that smile." Laura said as she cupped his face and kissed him for all to see. Eric wasn't a fan of public displays, but Laura was pretty and a really good kisser._

 _His ears rang when he heard Mo start to yell, "Shut the fuck up." He saw Mo throw the first punch._

 _By the time Eric pulled away from Laura, pulled Tami back from running toward the kitchen, Mo was getting pummeled by the stoners. Mo was drunk and couldn't defend himself properly. Eric knew to jump in and break it up. His coach expected it. It felt like ten guys came out of nowhere to break it up. By the time Eric saw Mo on the floor, Tami was by his side._

 _Eric took one look and knew the cut over his right eyebrow was going to need stitches. "We have to take him to the hospital."_

 _As Tami knelt down next to Mo, Eric grabbed some towels from the kitchen counter as passed them to Tami. "Hold this over the cut. I'm going to get my car and pull it in the driveway."_

 _As Eric headed out, he asked Laura if she could find a ride home. There were so many classmates at this house, it wasn't a big deal. Eric felt a little bad, but didn't want to take another underage drinker into the hospital with them. He figured there was no way Tami would stay put._

 _On the way to the hospital, Tami must have asked Mo three times what happened in that kitchen. Eric knew. He knew how those guys were talking and he knew Mo had a temper. Mo didn't answer her and as silence lingered, Tami's frustration grew. By the time they arrived at the hospital, Eric was the only one thinking clearly. He brought Mo in, filled out some paperwork and called his dad against Mo's wishes._

" _I'm going to go." Eric said, as the clock ticked past one in the morning. He said it to Mo, but so Tami could hear as well. "Do you want me to take her home?"_

" _I'm standing right here. You can ask me." She put her hands on her hips, acting as if she was annoyed that Mo was calling the shots._

 _Eric didn't dare turn his head. "I don't mind. Plus, your dad will be here soon. We should probably go."_

" _Thanks Taylor."_

" _No problem." He turned to Tami. "I'll give you a minute. I'll wait for you in the lobby."_

 _After five minutes, Tami appeared in the lobby and Eric led the way to his car. Tami was unusually quiet on the ride to her house._

 _It didn't take long before she broke her silence. "What happened in the kitchen? Why did Mo start that fight?"_

" _How do you know he started it?" Eric asked, not taking his eyes off the road._

" _Come on Eric. I saw him throw the first punch." Tami thought about what was really upsetting her. "I told Mo I don't want him fighting, even if it's over me."_

" _That's a little presumptuous." When he could feel Tami's eyes on him, he continued. "That you assume it was about you."_

 _Eric took his eyes off the road, to see Tami's reaction to what he said. Nope, she wasn't buying it. She knew it was about her. "Don't get me wrong. I like that he gets jealous. It's his way of showing that he cares about me."_

" _Hmmm." Eric decided to be bold and ask her something that some of the guys always wondered. "What else do you like about him?"_

'" _What?" She was surprised._

 _They were coming to a red light and as the car slowed, Eric turned to look at her. "Well, you've been with him for over a year. There must be something you like about him other than the fact that he gets jealous?"_

 _She decided to answer, giving her the opportunity to put him on the spot. "I like that he is always thinking about me. He meets me after my classes, he carries my books, he makes sure I have rides everywhere." She admittedly was having a hard time coming up with actual trait._

" _She makes sure he's getting laid." Eric challenged, wondering how she would rebut that._

" _Maybe." She laughed._

 _For the first time, Eric noticed her smile. It was never directed at him before, and now that it was, he realized how beautiful she was. The light turned green and Eric focused his eyes back on the road._

" _What do you like about Laura? Why do you always have her in your back pocket?" It was true. Laura was always there for him when he broke up with whoever was the latest girlfriend. She always managed to keep him occupied while he broke hearts._

" _Laura?" He started to think of exactly what it was that worked so well with Laura._

" _Or Michelle? Or Allison? Or Danielle? Or Jamie?" She laughed more softly this time, enjoying the fact that she could tease him._

 _He took his eyes off the road again, but just long enough to give her a warning look. He wanted to remind her that she wasn't one of the guys and this was not the locker room._

 _When he took too long to respond, she pushed him. "You're a mystery. Every girl wants to know what it will take to settle you down."_

 _Eric pulled into her neighborhood as she continued. "Good thing you are planning on going away to college. You are running out of options here."_

 _As he turned on to her block, he finally spoke. "Girls use me just as much as you assume I use them."_

" _Is that what you think?"_

" _I don't think it. I know it. I'm not stupid. They see potential in me, and not just in a relationship. They see future earnings potential." He pulled into her driveway, and put his truck in park._

" _And what do you see?"_

" _I see blowjobs." After he heard himself, he immediately apologized. "I shouldn't have said that in front of you." Even if he could easily talk to her, he shouldn't talk like that in front of a girl. "I'm sorry." He said regretfully._

 _She waved her hand dismissively, nonverbally saying it was okay. "Thanks for the ride."_

 _It felt like an hour, but it was probably only a few seconds from the time she thanked him to the time she felt the mobility in her legs to get out of the car. She couldn't break the stare of his eyes. She never really noticed how gorgeous they were. She probably never noticed because they were never staring at her like they were right now. The pause was awkward so she spoke as she opened the door. "They're not using you for your future earnings potential. They're curious if the rumors are true." She closed the door, but leaned over, speaking to him through the open window. "They talk about stamina, Eric. You've earned yourself quite the reputation."_

 _Eric smirked. "You girls are trouble."_

" _Goodnight Eric." She called back as she walked away from his truck and toward her house. He couldn't help but wonder if she was one of those curious girls._

Later that evening, Tami met Eric in his office so they could leave together. She was still upset about Mrs. Castor coming into her office and making accusations against her husband and the way he was going to handle this. She needed to make him understand how this all looked from the outside. As they opened the door and faced the setting sun, Tami started telling Eric about her day.

" _Mrs. Castor came to see me today."_

" _Oh yeah? How's the boy doing?"_

" _Well, he's not doing very well. You know Reyes really did a number on him." What did Eric expect her to say?_

" _I know. Listen, he's a good kid. He just gets a little hot under the collar."_

" _A little hot under the collar? I mean, he put him in the hospital."_

" _I understand that." He didn't want to hear this from her. She was supposed to be his comfort._

" _I'm guess I'm just a little curious about what you think. You know, what are you going to do about the situation?"_

" _What do you mean, 'what am I going to do about it?'" She always challenged him, and honestly, it is one of the things he loved about her._

" _Well, I mean I think you're in a position where you might be able…"_

 _He cut her off, suddenly understanding her position. "Wait, wait. Let me ask you a question. Who am I talking to right now? Am I talking to the guidance counselor or am I talking to my wife?"_

" _Oh, come on." She laughs a little, pleading with her eyes, to make him understand._

" _I'm serious!"_

" _What do you mean 'who do you think your speaking to – guidance counselor or your wife?'" She asked incredulously._

" _Sometimes I don't know. Sometimes I really don't know. " He argued back._

" _It doesn't making a difference how I'm speaking to you…"_

" _Sometimes it does!"_

" _Well I'm just curious about how you're looking at this. It's a very serious situation." Does he even realize how serious?_

 _Eric sees Julie, grateful he could end this talk with Tami. "Hey hon." He calls to her, almost talking over Tami._

" _Hey guys." She unplugs her ear phones as Tami kissed her hello._

" _You all good? You have a good day at school? " Eric says loudly, wanting to drown out Tami's cross examination._

" _Yeah, a blast."_

" _Here you go. I got you something. I got you an apple."_

" _Oh Gee Whiz!"_

" _Apple of your daddy's eye."_

Tami rolled her eyes, completely annoyed at Eric's nonchalance. Where was his self-righteousness? That was one of the traits she fell in love with. She couldn't understand why she was being so ignorant. He loved football and no one understood more than her. Her whole life revolved around his love for football, but this situation was different. An innocent kid got hurt and football doesn't make that okay.

The next day Eric drove to the juvenile detention center with Buddy. As if this situation wasn't enough to deal with, Buddy drops another bomb. He was going to have to go in front of the athletic board and pretend like what he did with VooDoo was not wrong. _"I'm not going to lie."_ Eric was pissed. He was a football coach, not a damn politician. This is not what he did. This was not who he was.

When they arrived at the juvenile hall, Eric needed something to go right. He wanted to prove to Buddy that he could handle this. He wanted to prove to Tami that he would resolve this in a fair manner that happened also to favor his football team.

After hearing the story from Reyes' side, he actually felt bad for the kid. Racism in western Texas was not uncommon, but he didn't need that poison on his team. He didn't want his boys to deal with it.

 _Eric came right out and asked him. "You're telling me the truth?"_

 _He asks him twice to make sure. "You look me right in the eye. You tell me you're telling me the truth?"_

When he arrived home, Tami made a nice dinner, and he was hoping to hold on to that moment of peace as he sat with his wife and daughter.

No such luck. "Where were you today?"

"I had to take a ride with Buddy." He didn't elaborate, but gave her a look saying that he did not want to talk about this in front of Julie.

"Did you talk to Bobby Reyes?"

He thought his eyes spoke volumes, but apparently they didn't during a disagreement. "I don't want to get into this right now, Tami." When she didn't respond, he tried to soften her with his words. "You made a really nice dinner. Can't we just enjoy it without fighting?"

"I'm not fighting. You're fighting." She simply said. She often said that when she felt he was wrong.

Later that night, Tami was watching the news in bed when Eric joined her with a book. Eric hated watching the news, unless it was relating to sports. He pulled the covers back and he climbed in, noticing Tami's red tank top and short pajama shorts. Although he was upset with her, he couldn't deny his attraction to her. She was beautiful. He pulled off his shirt, enjoying how the cool sheets felt against his bare skin.

"For the record, you are fighting with me." He broke the silence. He opened his book, pretending like he was going to ignore her and start to read.

"No, I'm not." She looked away from the television. "I'm disagreeing with you. There's a difference."

The newscast came back from the commercial break and the anchor mentioned Reyes' name. They both turned to face the television as they watched the boy address the masses. He told his side of the story, and when he was done, Tami spoke first.

" _I'm not buying his story. I'm not buying that."_

" _You're not buying it?" He questioned, once again pretending to read. He didn't want to hear it again._

 _She turned to face him, revealing a little bit of cleavage. "Kurt Castor is a straight A student. He's on the student mentoring program and I talked to his mother. I just…" She wished she could explain the feeling deep within her gut. "I just …I don't feel that he would have said those things."_

" _Look, people, they say stupid things. They're teenagers."_

" _She just knew in her heart that he didn't do it. I believed her."_

 _He finally put the book down. "Look I've known Reyes for a long time. I've coached him for a long time. He's not the kind of kid that's going to do something like that."_

" _Did you know he's been arrested twice? Two burglaries and, one of them, he resisted arrest."_

" _Well, he is a little….he's had a tough upbringing." Eric excused._

" _That's not what we're talking about." Now, she was getting mad. She hated when people blamed poor behavior on their upbringing. He knew it too. He knew Tami didn't have the best role models growing up. He shouldn't have said it._

" _I'm not saying it was the right thing for him to do – to beat the hell out of this kid, but he was obviously provoked. "_

 _She spoke a little slower, almost begging him to listen to her. "I would like for you to really look at all sides of this thing."_

" _Well of course I looked at all sides of it, honey." He answered quickly. "I'm just telling you, I looked that kid right in the eye. He's telling the truth. Alright? I can tell."_

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe him. I'm sorry that I don't and you so strongly do."

He rolled over and threw his book on his nightstand. "Let's just agree to disagree."

"No. We never do that." She said with a small chuckle.

"No." He said sadly, just wanting this conversation to be over. "We never do."

"I get it though. I get why you want so badly to believe him. You want to protect your players, your boys. But there is a difference between right and wrong and you blur that line. You blur it for them and you shouldn't."

Eric listened to what she said, really listened. He knew better to because most of the time Tami was right.

The next morning he once again found himself adverting another crisis with Buddy, as they headed to the administration board meeting. This whole VooDoo thing was hanging over his head and he wanted it put to rest, but at what cost? As they walked up the steps of the building, he reminded Buddy one more time _, "I'm not lying."_

 _Buddy cut him down to size. "You want to coach big time high school football Eric? This is what you have to do."_

They got lucky. It was like a small miracle that Buddy knew the man making the decision.

While Tami was walking in the hallway, she heard the announcement about the decision. She decided to walk over to Eric's office to congratulate him. When he wasn't in his office, she thought that was odd. He was always down there. The one beauty of working at Dillon was that he did not have to teach any classes. He lived in that office.

Later that day, she heard a knock on her office door and Eric walked in. The first thing she noticed was that he wasn't wearing his practice gear.

She got up to greet him with a kiss. "Hey. Where have you been? I didn't even hear you leave this morning."

"I had to take a ride with Buddy and work on this decision."

She sat back down, expecting him to sit as well. "Buddy, again? Should I start to worry? You've been taking a lot of rides with Buddy lately."

He chuckled. "I can't stay. I have to change for practice. See you tonight?"

She didn't hear him as she was still processing the words he said before. "Working on the decision? What does that mean?"

"I'll explain it all later over some wine?" He asked, mentioning the wine as a peace treaty.

"Sure."

After dinner, Julie went to her room and Eric asked if Tami wanted to sit outside. He knew she wanted to talk about what he has been up to, but he didn't want her involved. He would always try to protect her.

" _Congratulations on the VooDoo decision." She said it in a very lackluster manner. She was a little suspicious._

" _You know it could have gone the other way, don't ya?"_

" _Why, exactly?" She knew he did something he wasn't comfortable with._

" _You go with Buddy Garrity, out to a seedy little motel to meet a kid names VooDoo, along with a manager and ol' Buddy he starts promising things."_

" _What kind of things?"_

" _He starts promising things." Eric nodded his head, letting her know it was things she shouldn't know about._

" _But you didn't do that sugar?" She knew him too well._

 _He did do something he knew wasn't right. He went to that motel room, against his better judgement. He brought VooDoo onto his team although he knew it wasn't within the confines of the rule book. "I think sometimes for anyone to do what I do, it is damn near impossible to not sell your soul just a little bit down the river."_

 _Tami couldn't imagine him steering off his course of self-righteousness. "I think you keep doing what your doing, Coach. Take it one day at a time."_

" _You know what I really love?"_

" _MmmHmm." She knew._

" _I love football." Not this bureaucratic crap Buddy got him involved in. "I love football."_

" _I know." She smiled, loving when his passion shined through._

" _I love those kids."_

They heard the bell ring, interrupting Eric's thoughts until he saw Julie through the sliding glass doors, going to answer the front door.

He took a big gulp of wine, as he continued to speak. "I hate this part of my job, Tami. I'm not good at it."

"It's not your job to be dishonest."

"Buddy, now he's good at it. He walked in there today with no fear or remorse for what he was going to have to do. That is why he is so successful. He gets things done no matter what the cost."

Tami was about to build him up. She wanted to tell him that she was proud of him, that he was successful, but Julie interrupted them. Matt was at the door.

 _When Eric saw Matt at the door, he could see that Matt was upset about something. "You alright?"_

" _Yeah." He gave Eric a look that he wanted him to shut the door. What he came there to say was private._

 _Eric read him well, shut the door and asked, "What's up?"_

 _Matt proceeded to tell him his thoughts on the fight. Castor was not the cause, VooDoo stirred up trouble and Reyes placed the blame on the wrong kid. Matt continued to speak, struggling with his words. "I know I should have said something sooner. I think I was confused with what was right for the team and what …" He swayed back and forth. "…and what was right. Anyway, sorry I bothered you. Goodnight, Coach."_

 _Eric looked at him with a sense of wonder. How was this kid so mature? How was he able to do something at sixteen years old that Eric couldn't do as a grown adult? Eric should have never gone to that apartment to recruit VooDoo. He should have told Buddy to stay out of it. Matt should have told him right away about his thoughts, but yet, here he was better late than never. Eric was really proud of this kid. As Matt walked away, he wanted to tell him that. He wanted to thank him for taking the higher road. He wanted to say that he wished he had the courage to do what was right and not just right for the team. The illegal recruitment and protecting Reyes was right for the team, but it was definitely not right._

" _Hey Matt." Matt stopped and turned around to face him. Eric struggled with the words. "Tell your grandmother I said hello."_

When Eric went back into the house, he told Tami what Matt just said. He started putting on his pullover and looking for his keys. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go make this right."

After Eric went to visit Castor, he felt better. That poor kid did not deserve what happened to him. He knew what else he had to do, and for once he was not going to let Buddy Garrity in on it. He was the Coach and he had the right to make decisions for his team.

" _You need to pack up your locker, clear your personal things. You are off this team." This felt good. This felt right. "You screwed yourself real good." He needed to offer one last piece of advice. "I suggest you go over the guidance counselor's office and you start working on your anger problems."_

At practice, he felt lighter. One thing had been lifted, but the other he still had to work on. VooDoo was asking why he was playing defense. Eric didn't have time for this crap. He knew this kid was pissed but his behavior during the last game trumped any illegal recruitment issues. No one behaved like that on his field and in his locker room.

After he got home that evening, he wanted to have some private time with Tami. He knew he had to tell her she was right. Although he hated to admit that, he knew admittance would lead to getting lucky. As he crawled into bed, he gently kissed her forehead. "Thank you for being smart." She was propped up against her pillows, nestled underneath the covers. As he pulled the covers back, he continued to speak. "You were right. I should have listened to you."

"Well, I am the smart one."

He rolled on top of her, not waiting for her invitation. "Smart." He kissed her softly. "Sweet." He kissed her again, this time with a little more passion. "Sexy." He kissed her harder this time, opening his mouth and searching for her tongue. "Incredibly sexy." He moved his lips to her neck and his hands to the hem of her Panthers t-shirt.

"Incredibly." She agreed.

Their sex life revolved around the pacing. Sometimes they would be in a complete rush. They would hardly remove the clothes, just unbuttoning and unzipping what was necessary. Sometimes they slowly tortured each other. They would playfully tease one another as they slowly removed one article of clothing at a time. Sometimes the pacing would change midway, their senses heightening or their patience overruling. Tonight was one of those nights, where they started slowly teasing each other and ending rushed and sloppy. Eric removed her shirt first. She removed his next. She played with him through his boxers as he slowly pushed down her shorts. He liked to leave her bra on until the end. He always told her how sexy she looked in her bra. She eventually removed his boxers and he slid down her underwear. They took their time with one another, kissing deeply, rolling around and enjoying how their flesh felt against one another. As soon as she felt his tip at her entrance, their pace changed. Eric was ravenous. He needed her immediately and wanted to take control. He pushed her to climax first, holding on until she was done and then allowing his own release.

He pulled his boxers back on and laid straight on his back, catching his breath. Tami rolled closer to him as she spoke. _"Guess who came in for counseling today?"_

" _Hmm?" Eric was spent. He couldn't formulate any words at the moment._

" _Bobby Reyes." She said as nestled her head on his shoulder, kissing his neck._

" _Really?" Eric said, taking a sharp breath in, still trying to gain control of himself and his breathing._

" _Did you maybe have anything to do with that?" She lifted her head so she can look in his eyes, admiring the man she was lucky enough to share a bed._

" _I might have anything to do with that." He said, licking his lips, still reeling from his release._

 _She kissed his neck and then his lips, leaning over on top of him, wanting a bit more from him. "That's why I love you."_

A knock at their front door interrupted them. Eric sat up a bit as Tami asked, "Who's that?"

As they heard Buddy's voice through their bedroom wall calling out to Eric, he put his head back in the pillows. "You've got to be kidding me?"

"You have to answer it."

"Unbelievable." Eric muttered as he slid out of bed and threw on his white undershirt. All he wanted was to spend some time with his wife. This damn town was going to drive him crazy. Every day he was more convinced that not many men could do what he did.

 _ **-Please take a minute to leave a review.**_


	7. Homecoming

**Homecoming**

 **Season 1 = Episode #7**

 **Disclaimer: This episode was written by Peter Berg. Italics are his and flashbacks are mine.**

 _ **ICanStopAnytime:**_ _ **I thought of giving more to that Tami/Tyra scene. There was so much there, but like in the show, you just feel Tami's frustration with the girl. Plus, their relationship is very underdeveloped at this point so I plan on having more of an expansion when she becomes closer with Tami and the Taylors.**_

 _ **To all the "Guest" reviewers:**_ _ **Thanks for the kind words. I loved that scene in Season 5 when Eric overhears his players talking at the hotel. That Eric/Tami sex scene was so obvious to me at the end of that episode, but there was absolutely no reference to it. I almost wished Eric said something to Buddy like "I'm in the middle of something." I guess that's not very Eric Taylor like though.**_

 _ **Naguabo:**_ _ **I love the Matt/Eric relationship throughout the entire series. I feel like it's a rollercoaster with them, but I think that is why I like it. I plan on exploring more of it in the next couple of chapters as he starts to date Julie.**_

 _ **Stalyn70:**_ _ **Thanks for taking the time to review.**_

 _ **A/N: Another episode where we didn't get a lot of Eric and Tami interaction. Sorry this took so long, but again, it is hard to piece together when you don't have much to work with it. I looked forward to the next few chapters when you get a ton of Eric/Tami parenting.**_

Eric came out of the bathroom and watched Tami as she was putting on her makeup. "You know, you don't need any of that."

She froze the mascara wand, stopping the motion of her final application. She watched him through the mirror as he continued walking further into their bedroom. He grabbed his bright blue Panthers pullover and started threading his arms through the sleeves. "That's sweet." She continued to watch him, gauging if she should make this next joke. He didn't particularly like going to any sort of event where he was forced to be social, but tonight's event was different. "Maybe I don't want to look good for just you." She figured she would tease him.

Just as he was about to pull the actual jacket over his head he paused. He looked at her through the mirror to make sure his eyes met hers. "Don't do that. There's no need to stir up trouble." He said it smiling.

"I'm not causing any trouble." She placed the mascara wand back and closed it tightly. "I just know how tonight is going to go and I want to make sure you know that I am still there." Her husband was usually whisked away at any event, someone always wanting to get in his ear about something. Tonight was going to be worse because it was homecoming.

Homecoming was the one event Eric look forward to attending. He loved catching up with his old players, finding out where life has taken them over the past few years. "Everyone notices your presence. It's impossible to miss." It was true. He saw heads turn when Tami walked by and he was partially proud of that and partially angered. "The difference is that I feel your presence." He pulled his jacket over his head.

Tami walked over to where he was standing at the foot of their bed. "You're excited. I can tell."

"I am excited. I like seeing how my boys are doing. I like to believe I've had a part in their successes. "

"What about me?" She dared to flirt. "Have I been part of your successes? " She put her hands on his shoulders, pulling him toward her.

"Tami, you know you _are_ my success."

"Just making sure." She smiled and started to lean in to him for a kiss.

Eric loved when Tami was like this. He loved when she made the first move. Throughout their relationship, he predominately took the lead. From their first kiss to their first sexual encounter, he always led. But every now and again, Tami would start the process. Eric loved those moments, not because they were rare, but because sometimes he liked to play defense.

"Nah-ah." He blocked. "Don't do this now." He leaned back away from her.

"What?"

"I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make us late."

She relented. "I know. On-time is late for you."

She moved away from him and went back toward the closet to grab her purse. He waited by the door, waiting for her to exit first. As she walked by him, he grabbed her hand. "If you want to play this game later, I'd be more than willing to oblige."

She gave him a look he knew too well. It was her teasing, 'I'm going to have my way with you' look. "I don't know. I might have to bench you for neglecting my needs now."

Her needs? Eric never heard her speak about sex as something she desperately needed. Not when she was stone cold sober, anyway. He felt glued to that spot in his bedroom, considering taking her back to bed. She woke him out of his daze, tugging on his hand. "Let's go, Coach."

She kept herself occupied as Eric worked the room. She and Julie stayed in the background as Eric shook hands, smiled true genuine smiles and even throwing a few manly hugs to some of his past players. Every now and again, she noticed him searching the area, searching for her. When they locked eyes, he would apologetically smile, feeling her words from earlier ring true. He knew she was there, constantly searching for her. When he saw Julie go off with her friends, he excused himself and made his way over to her.

"Just so you know, I've had my eyes on you for the past hour."

She lifted her blue Solo cup to her lips, smiling shyly into it. "I know. I've been watching you watch me."

He wanted to tell her he was thinking about what she said about him neglecting her needs. He always put her needs first. It was something he learned over years of marriage. As he watched Lucas approach, he knew now was not the time.

Lucas embraced Eric first and then leaned in to kiss Tami hello. Eric noticed Lucas' extra-long unnecessary stare at his wife before making conversation with Eric about his current season. Smash came over to say hi to Coach and Lucas introduced himself. Lucas quickly explained his relationship to Eric.

" _This guy used to drive 22 miles from Macedonia every day my sophomore year just to work me out."_

" _I needed the money." Eric joked, but Tami knew at the time it really wasn't something they laughed about. Financially, their marriage had struggled through those first couple of years when Eric decided to coach full-time._

" _So how are you? How's your family?" Tami asked, inquiring about things deeper than football._

Lucas made small talk as Tami put one of her arms around Eric's shoulders. She was so proud of him, listening to Lucas' accomplishments. She did believe Eric had something to do with it. Eric wasn't particularly close with Lucas and felt a little uncomfortable taking any credit.

 _Eric changed the subject, introducing Smash to Lucas. "This guy right here is the best running back in the state of Texas - when he's listening, which is very rare."_

" _Oh, come on Coach."_

" _When he's listening, he is a hell of a running back."_ Eric never liked to soften their players with high praise off the field. Truth be told, he thought very highly of Smash and his abilities. He knew that kid had the determination to go all the way.

After Lucas and Smash walked away to meet Grady Hunt, Eric turned to Tami. "I'm ready to go when you are."

"Are you? You were in such a rush to get here and now you are just ready to leave."

He leaned closer, not wanting anyone to hear him, placing his lips closer to hear here. "You want me to admit it? Okay. I'll admit it. I need you all the time."

She laughed as he straightened his posture.

"There's no shame in admitting it…." He continued, "…which is why I wonder why you never do."

"Are you serious right now?"

"Yes. I'm serious. You never act like you need that from me. Ever."

She thought about what to say and how to reassure him. For a man of confidence, she couldn't believe he needed this. Instead, she decided to play the role of a tease. "I like to keep you on your toes, Coach."

When they finally left, they settled into a comfortable silence in the car. Eventually Eric broke the quietness, asking what she was thinking about.

"Talking to Lucas brought back a lot of memories for me."

"Yeah. Me too." He said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"We changed so much since then. You and I together."

"For the better, Tami. Life was so damn difficult back then."

 _They owned a small two-bedroom house in Macedonia. They rented an apartment in College Station after they graduated and stayed there for about 2 years, before moving to Midland. Eric knew Midland was not going to be their last stop. Midland was great and where he started his coaching career, but with no major cities close by, he knew Tami would get bored. He got an offer in Macedonia and decided to take it. It was close to Houston and only about two hours from the Gulf. Julie was just about to start the first grade so the timing seemed right._

 _They decided to purchase a house instead of renting. Eric realized it was the only way they would be able to upgrade as he career continued to flourish. With Tami not working, money was tight. Eric taught Physical Education during the day, assistant coached during his evenings and strategized during his nights. He had so much on his plate and Tami felt helpless._

 _She ended up getting a job as a counselor at a local clinic, but decided with that money she was going to put herself through a graduate degree. It felt like they barely saw one another. Their conversations mainly focused on Julie and their schedules. Tami felt so disconnected from Eric. So, when Eric decided to tell her about his new venture, she nearly lost it._

" _We need the money, Tami. We are barely keeping our head above water right now." He thought about the mortgage bills, the taxes, the utilities, the college savings fund they started for Julie and the very small savings account they managed for themselves. "We don't even have the luxury to get a babysitter and go to dinner once a week."_

 _Tami was pissed and she wasn't the type of person to hold that in. "We don't go out because we are never in the same place at the same time. We never spend any time together and now you want to place Dillon, Texas between us?"_

" _I'm not placing that between us. If I privately coach this kid twice a week, that could give us a little bit a financial breathing room each month. We can actually go out together without feeling guilty about it."_

" _So let me get this straight. You are going to commute almost an hour, twice a week so we can spend more time together?"_

" _I miss you, alright." He raised his voice to get his point across. "I don't want to go on like this. I want to be able to take you out on a date…." His voice softened, "….maybe get you drunk, maybe help you relax…" He trailed._

" _Maybe so you can get lucky?" She asked, amused, knowing where his mind was drifting._

" _You know, there was a time when you thought of it that way too."_

" _I'm lucky every day, Eric."_

"We got through it." Tami said.

"It wasn't easy though. You were right. That commute was terrible."

"Yeah, but the sex was good. " She turned her head to see his reaction to her words. He kept his eyes on the road, but she noticed the curve of the corners of his mouth.

"It's always good." He thought about that small house. "We christened every square foot of that house. Remember?"

"Yeah." Her voice dripped with a little bit of sadness. "We haven't done such a good job in our house now." She and Eric had plenty of sex, but it was usually in the confines of their bedroom. "Why is that?"

"We had a kindergartener in that house. She was blissfully unaware of our actions." He thought about Julie now and how they could never get away with the things they used to do.

"Maybe as Julie grows, and not home as much, we can make up for lost time."

"Is that a challenge?" He pushed.

"Why is everything a competition with you?" She asked.

"It's who you married."

At practice the following day, a lot of alumni flooded the stands. Eric felt the pressure as he ran the practice and silently thanked Smash when he called Lucas out to throw some passes. He needed a drink and was grateful when Lucas asked if wanted to grab some dinner. He called home to let Tami know he wouldn't be home for a bit.

"Are you okay?" She asked, sensing the tension in her voice.

"It was a long practice. I need to unwind."

"And dinner with Lucas is going to do that?"

"Not as much as dessert with you." He teased.

"Oh, I see where you're going with that so I am going to hang up. And just so you know, I'm not waiting up."

He laughed as he hung up the phone. It was the last laugh he had that evening.

Lucas dropped a bomb on him. Not only did he lie about his life in Dallas, but he was reaching out to Eric for help. Eric had enough people always asking things of him and now this kid too? And he was a kid. Or at least acting like one. He is a father who never saw his own kid. This is not the type of player he wanted to have under his belt. He was to influence kids to grow into strong men. He was annoyed, disappointed and almost ashamed of Lucas.

He barely slept that night, and instead of tossing and turning, he got up and started to watch some game tape. He didn't hear Tami as she approached the living room.

" _Hey babe."_

" _Hey. I wake you up?"_

" _No. You sleep at all?" She noticed he was watching game tape, taking a seat on the arm of his chair._

 _Yeah, got a little bit." He turned his head away from the television when he felt her soothing hand on his back. She leaned in for a kiss, which his gladly returned._

" _How was the dinner with Lucas?"_

Eric proceeded to tell her the whole story. Tami could always tell his level of frustration by his nonverbal behavior. He rubbed his eyes lightly, so she knew he wasn't at the level of full-blown anger. When he ran his hands through his hair or cackled that shroud laugh,that was when she knew he had it. She also knew those were the times when she had the ability to comfort him. She knew how to calm him, but she also knew there was a level above that. She knew there was a level that even she couldn't console. When he deeply stared at something or someone, slammed an inanimate object or spoke so slowly to get his point across, she knew he had to fix it on his own. She knew he had the comfort of her being by his side, but she knew how to take that step back and let him fester for a bit. It was a dance they perfected over the years.

" _I'm not the kid's father. I don't know why he's coming to me."_

Tami told Eric that he didn't need to feel responsible. It wasn't his job.

When Eric asked the Athletic Director to take on another assistant coach and was shut down, he was not surprised. It was an odd request to make in the middle of the season. He told that to Lucas, which Eric thought was not easy. He felt bad for the guy and didn't want to see him fail at life, but Tami was right. This was not his responsibility.

Later that afternoon, as Eric headed back into his office, he noticed Smash studying the playbook. It was odd seeing Smash there. That kid never seemed to worry about anything. But there he was with an almost frightened look on his face.

" _Hey coach, what do you know about this Grady Hunt guy?"_

" _Grady Hunt? Grady Hunt?" Eric was afraid this guy was going to get into Smash's head. He's seen it before and he hated to think he was going to see it again. "I know that Grady Hunt has a list of people like you on it. To look at. Why?"_

" _Everyone says that he has the power to make or break you. He ain't no Jesus or nothing, but he's coming. It's just a lot that's all."_

 _It was too late. Smash was already thinking about college ball and not about the game he had in four hours. "Let me tell you something. You're a prospect. There's going to be a lot of Grady Hunt's coming in and out of here in the next few years looking at you." Eric wanted him to know that tonight was not his only night._

" _Think so?"_

" _I know so. And I'll tell you something else. Grady Hunt is not going to make or break number twenty. You are. You go out there tonight and you focus on this game, you focus on this game alone, you'll be fine. You understand me?"_

" _Yes, sir. Yeah, you're right."_

" _We're all good?"_

Eric wasn't convinced Smash was out of his own head. He felt like he could have said more.

 _Top agencies had contacted him over the years. CAA was the first. It was just some paperwork he found in his campus mailbox his freshman year. His sophomore year Relativity contacted him via phone call, wanting to know if he's thought about life after college. His junior year a few more agencies were doing more than contacting him. They were researching him. They wanted to know what Eric liked, who was important to him and how they were going to win him over._

 _Tami did her research as well. She knew he can talk to as many agencies as he wanted but he could not sign anything until his 4 years of eligibility were up and he played in that final bowl game. Tami also researched the agencies, hoping Eric would go with something a little smaller, with a little more personalization._

 _It was the weekend leading up to first game senior year. He was a nervous wreck. Tami was supposed to arrive Friday in the early evening, stay for the game on Saturday and leave on Sunday. She knew this was a big weekend for him. Several recruitment departments from NFL franchises contacted him to express their interest, letting him know they would be watching him. Eric always did well under pressure, but this was almost too much. His life all came down to this one game. Tami's life depended on it as well._

 _When she arrived at his off-campus house that he shared with a few of his teammates, he grabbed her hand and led her to his bedroom. He opened the door and let her in first, never losing a hold of her hand. He shut the door behind him and tugged on her hand as he pulled her body close to his. He stumbled back, losing his balance as his back slammed against the back of the door. They both laughed as they stared into each other's eyes. He knew what he wanted. He couldn't help it._

 _He couldn't help himself, especially when it came to her._

 _He put a hand on the back of her head, pulling her head toward his, needing to taste her lips. She pushed her body into his, willing it closer and she felt his tongue swirl hers. He felt her breasts push against his chest and he felt himself grow beneath her._

 _She pulled back when she felt his hardness. "So much for a simple hello?"_

 _He smirked. "Hi." He said as he took a deep breath trying to control himself._

 _She leaned her forehead against his and smiled. "Hi."_

" _God, Tami. I missed you." He truly did. They were engaged and ever since he put that ring on her finger, he felt like he needed her more if that was even possible._

 _She moved her hands to his chest, staring into his eyes. She could tell something wasn't right. He always missed her, but his eyes spoke to her like he was scared. "We have been apart longer than this." She started to lift his shirt, now moving her hands across his chest. She loved his body._

" _I cannot wait until we get settled. I can't wait to we know where will live. I can't wait for us …"_

 _She stopped him with her lips. She kissed him heard to let him know she wanted those things too. When she pulled back, she regained her focus on his eyes. She moved her hands lower, feeling his hardened dick in her hand. She slowly stoked him through his jeans. "This isn't so bad. Where we are right now isn't so bad."_

 _He closed his eyes, enjoying her touch and smirking at her words. "Tomorrow should give us some answers."_

" _Let's not talk about tomorrow right now. Let's talk about this. About us." She started to undo the belt buckle, wanting to rid him of his shorts. "What do you want Eric?" She teased._

 _He kissed her hard, walking her toward his bed. "It's not about what I want anymore. It's what I need. I need you here all the time. I need you to be the constant in my life. I need you to want me as much as I want you."_

 _She slowly sat down, pulling him by the back of his neck over her. "You never need to worry about that."_

 _After they had sex, Eric wrapped his arms around her and they stayed like that for a while. Tami noticed that Eric was particularly quiet, but she knew him well enough not to push him. She suggested they go to dinner and for a stroll around campus._

 _They held hands as they strolled by the golf course, the residence halls and some of the education buildings. Tami would have thought it was a comfortable silence between them if Eric wasn't holding her hand so tightly. When she would steal a glance his way, she saw the tightening in his jaw that only meant he was grinding his teeth._

 _She decided to break the silence. "You know you can't scare me away, right?"_

 _He turned his head to look at her. "Huh?"_

 _The kept walking aimlessly. "Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me. I'm not going anywhere."_

" _I know that." He thought about how to speak to her about this. "How do you see your future?"_

" _You mean our future?"_

" _Of course." He quickly reassured her. "Our future. How do you see the next few years going?"_

 _She noticed that scared look in his eyes again, wondering what he was so afraid of at this point. "I see you playing football, me continuing my education, us living together and not miles apart. I see us waking up every day next to each other." She stopped walking and he followed her lead, halting his steps. She leaned in and kissed him. "I see us having a lot of sex." She smiled through her kiss._

 _He smiled back and his lips quickly went from curved into a straight line. "I spent the last week studying the playbook. Memorizing every play. Contemplating when to execute certain ones during certain positions on the field. I have been going over and over and over it."_

" _Eric, you are going to drive yourself crazy." She realized he was stressed about the first game of the season tomorrow._

" _If I make a bad call, or execute a poor play, our entire lives are going to be altered. Do you realize that? Do you realize that if someone from Miami or San Diego is there tomorrow and I screw up, I am going to ruin a life of living by the beach for you? Do you realize that when I go out there tomorrow, I have the potential to not only screw up my life, I can also destroy all your dreams?"_

" _Hey. Hey. Stop for a second.' She said cupping his face with both her hands. "There are agents that want to represent you. They have been contacting you for months now. One bad game is not going to make or break your entire career." She saw his eyes lower to the ground. "Look at me. My dreams will not be destroyed over a football game. My dreams revolve around a life with you, whether that life is in or out of the NFL. I believe in you Eric. I believe in you with all my heart. I believe that with or without the luxurious life of the NFL, I can be happy with you. The man you are out measures the football player you are. I believe in you. Your father, as crazy as he could be at times, believes in you. When are you going to believe in yourself?"_

At halftime, Eric was ready to kill Smash. He wanted to murder him with his words. Smash let the pressure get to him. _"The problem is the guy out there with the damn clipboard. That's the problem. You don't play for U-T. You play Dillon Panther high school football and you play for me so forget the damn list!"_

Eric knew that could have been all those years ago. He knew if it wasn't for Tami and all of her support and encouragement, he too, would have cracked under pressure. His anger was driven toward Smash because of the stupidity of the situation. He told Smash Grady Hunt was not the only scout that would ever look at him. He told Smash that he needed to focus on this one game. Why did this kid not listen to him? Why did this kid not trust him?

The second half Eric re-worked his offense to not include Smash. It wasn't his night and thankfully Tim stepped up and they won the game. As Tami and Julie waited for Eric to come out of the locker room, Julie asked Tami if she could go to some party that Lois told her about. Tami was unsure because it was not at someone's house, but in a field or the desert somewhere.

"Let's ask your father what he thinks."

"Why? Why can't you ever decide?"

The truth was Eric knew about these parties better than she did. He knew who was going to be there, if there was going to be my state-altering temptations other than alcohol and if it seemed safe for Julie to go. "Your father and I make these decisions together, Jules. You know that."

Eric knew about the party. He heard Tim inviting everyone, mentioning the kegs and nothing more. Eric figured, if Tim was going, Matt would be too. Matt hung out with that Lance kid, whose dad was a sergeant. He knew Tami had concerns, but he believed in trust. Julie has not done anything to break their trust and told her he could go. He partially wanted to have some alone time with Tami.

On their drive home, Tami knew Eric was unhappy with how they won that game. She treaded lightly. "Smash had a bad game, huh?"

"Yeah." He said sadly. "The pressure got to him. I saw it coming."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw him studying the playbook. He was asking about Grady Hunt." He knew Tami would understand. "There's reason I don't like to introduce my players to scouts. Gets in their head." He glanced at her. "I tried to talk to him. He didn't listen."

She looked at him, wondering why he was having a hard time understanding Smash. "You were tough to convince too."

With his eyes on the road, he moved one hand to hold hers. "I know. I was petrified. Maybe I should have told Smash that. Maybe he would have listened."

"What exactly would you have told him?" She laughed, thinking of the blowjob she gave him right before he left for that game many years ago -to help him relax.

He laughed too. "I would have told him that I believed in him. I would have told him how strongly I felt about it and been convincing too. The way you believed in me." He moved his thumb back and forth over the backside of her hand. "I loved you for that."

"That feels like a million years ago." She said, dismissing the weight of his words.

"I didn't think it was possible to love you more than I did at that moment." He glanced at her again, before looking back at the road as he turned into their development.

She made another joke. "And which moment was that?"

"I'm trying to be serious, Tami." This often happened in their relationship. Eric was trying to express feelings he guarded deeply and when the words finally flowed out of him, she would laugh.

"You're funny." She knew how he felt. She didn't need the words.

As he pulled into their driveway and put the car in park, he turned his body to face hers. "I am so in-love with you. You know that, right?"

"Mmmhmm." She said as, she nodded.

"Let me take you inside. Let me take you to bed." He kissed her gently. "Julie won't be home for at least an hour."

"An hour?" She couldn't help herself. "You don't need more than 15 minutes."

"Is that a challenge?" He teased back.

"Always a competition with you…"

 _ **Please review. I'd love to hear your thoughts.**_


	8. Crossing The Line

**Crossing the Line**

 **Season 1 – Episode #8**

 **Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg, and amazingly written by Bridget Carpenter. Italics are hers but flashbacks are mine.**

 _ **Stalyn70:**_ _ **I am so glad you look forward to the updates. It's nice to know, especially when I often look for updates and know the feeling.**_

 _ **ICanStopAnytime**_ _ **: I truly believe that because of his serious nature, his NFL failure must have been such a huge part of their history. Glad you are enjoying the flashbacks.**_

 _ **Naguabo:**_ _ **I do go back and re-watch the episodes to get the dialogue quoted perfected. I think the nature of Eric's job and his passion for it automatically qualifies him for competitive. I think a competitive person welcomes challenge.**_

 _ **Guests:**_ _ **Thank you for taking the time to review. I love to know that people are reading.**_

 **A/N: I fell in love with Eric and Tami during this episode. You get an awesome glimpse into their parenting styles and the scene in the garage is definitely one of my top ten favorite all time scenes over the entire series. Eric and Julie and even Eric and Matt scenes melt me! Again, my apologies for the delay. I was away on vacation for a week.**

It was a busy week. The fall season was in full swing, and with over a month of school under their belt, the uncomfortableness that usually accompanied students with the fresh start of a school year began to dissipate. With a certain level of comfort came drama. It always followed. Students started to party more on the weekends, cliques were formed, new couples emerged and the drama of high school students' lives always ensued.

Eric was at practice when he saw Billy approach the field. On Friday, Tim had an amazing game. Eric knew the second he saw Billy, what he was about to ask. This was the part of his job he actually liked. He enjoyed paving a future for his boys. He wanted so desperately to see them succeed.

" _He had a hell of game last week, didn't he?" Eric said, letting Billy know his thoughts. After Billy came out and asked what to do next, Eric thought for a second of how to proceed. How will it affect Tami? How he could fit it in? "I tell you what. You and Tim come out to dinner. I'll talk to Tami- get the time. Alright?"_

He loved his wife. She deeply understood this part of his job and how important it was. In the beginning of his coaching career, it took some getting used to on her part. There were kids constantly in and out of her house. Her frustration with Eric was because of his lack of communication. He learned though. He learned to check with her first. She would never say no, but needed some time to pull it together. She ended up loving those kids just as much as Eric. That's what made her a good counselor. That is why those students would tell her things she didn't want to hear.

That afternoon was no different.

Tami had a sophomore student in her office, and although her behavior was a bit jittery, she tried to continue talking about her education. She missed the PSATs and Tami was trying to go over what that meant and how she could make sure she signed up for the next round.

When Tami realized how distracted she was, she asked. _"Is everything okay, April?"_

" _A panther wants me to do a three-way." She said, clearly wanting to talk to someone about it._

 _Tami couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice: "Oh."_

" _Yeah and…."_

 _Tami gets up to shut the door. This conversation did not need to be overheard._

 _April continued as Tami tried to mentally prepare for how to handle this. "He says that all the rally girls do it, and I know a ton who have. I just …I Just…haven't. But I really like him, and he says if I do it I will be his girlfriend. So…"_

Tami tried to get the look of disgust off her face. Who the hell did these boys think they were? "April, I know you are feeling conflicted, but let me tell you something. You should never, ever do anything you are uncomfortable with doing." Tami sympathized with the girl. She could even empathize, remembering how she gave up her virginity.

"I feel like he is not going to like me if I don't do it."

"There's no guarantee either way, April. If you ask me, I think this boy has nerve to ask that of you." Tami thought she saw April roll her eyes, knowing that last statement might have lost her. She could tell April thought she was clueless in the teenage boy department. After April left her office, Tami's mind drifted to Eric. Did he have a clue what his boys were up to?

As the Taylors drove home from school that evening, Tami suggested picking something up on the way home for dinner. As they pulled up to the Alamo Freeze, Julie made some sort of a comment about keeping her social status intact. Eric and Tami stayed in the car, watching Julie through the windshield as she went inside to order their dinner.

As silence filled the car, Eric pulled out a newspaper, while Tami's mind drifted to April. " _You know what happened to me today?"_

" _Hmmm?" Eric was half listening, half reading._

" _This girl comes into my office and tells me she's contemplating having a three-way with a Dillon Panther."_

 _Eric knew Tami and knew she was upset. He could tell by her tone. He knew better than to say anything, opting to stay quiet. Eric knew very well that these things went on with his boys. Hell, he was once one of these boys. He could remember all the locker room talk on a Monday, everyone revealing what happened over the weekend. Some things didn't change. His boys were always chatty on Mondays._

" _She's a rally girl." Tami continued. "Apparently it was suggested to her that that might be part of her duties as a rally girl."_

 _Eric put down the paper and began to rub his eyes._

 _Interaction._

 _He knew Tami being a counselor was not going to make his job any easier. He wanted to keep his boys in line, but what wasn't directly addressed to him, he pretended didn't exist. He could tell from Tami's inflection she was pissed at his boys._

 _Tami's gaze drifted to Julie inside talking to Matt. "The girl's a sophomore." She was hoping by adding in that last part, that Eric would understand her true underlying concern. When he didn't grasp what she was getting at she looked back and forth from Julie to Eric and back to Julie. When confusion still played on his features, she spoke. "You know what? Our daughter is a sophomore."_

" _Come on. Stop that!" Was she crazy?_

" _I mean she's in there…" Tami tried to explain herself._

 _Eric did not need for her to continue. "Stop that. Our daughter reads Melville. You know what she hates…."_

 _Tami needed him to hear her. "You know who is behind that counter is Matt Saracen!"_

"… _more than football is football players. Stop that."_

" _I'm just saying."_

Tami wasn't done though. She expected something more from him. He, of course, mentioned Julie, but what about his players. Wasn't he supposed to discipline them? "You know, your lack of words speaks volumes."

"Huh?" Now where was she going?

"Why are you not more surprised by this little revelation in my office?"

He rustled his newspaper, folding it closed. His voice was low, and she almost didn't hear him. "You were once young too."

But she did hear him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He looked through the windshield, checking on Julie. After he found her with his eyes seated at one of the tables, he knew it was safe to talk. "How could you forget the things you did? I'm not saying I want Julie to partake in any of those things, but don't you remember the way a teenage boy's mind worked?"

As Tami stared at him in disbelief, he knew she was questioning his words. He didn't want to fight with her. He hated when he fought with her. He explained further, turning the focus back to Julie "She's a good kid Tami, but boys are going to ask for things. They are going to ask and ask and ask."

"You asked for those things? In high school? From rally girls and the cheerleaders?" Tami started to shake her head.

He tried to lighten the conversation with a joke. "I never had to _ask_ for much." That flew over like a lead balloon. Logic was his next play. "Besides, Mo worked on you for years for that. Why are you so surprised by it?"

She thought about his words and what he actually meant. She was going to ask what he meant, but the thoughts shuffled through her mind rapidly, like an experienced card dealer in Las Vegas. "I know you didn't just say that."

He gave her one of his 'don't try to play this innocent game with me' looks. He was just glad he was able to turn the table and take the focus off of himself.

"Mo never asked me to do that!" She defended. "Wait! All this time, did you think I did?"

"No. I never thought you went through with it. He just…you know him….he liked to talk. He swore you would give in."

"I did so many dumb things in high school, but I can promise you, that wasn't one of them. Mo always treated me well. I can't believe he would…."

"Yeah, so well." He said sarcastically. He didn't say that to hurt her. He said it because her words, even after all these years, stung him a bit.

"I just don't want these girls to feel like it's their job to do whatever your football players ask them to do."

"Let me tell you something. The girls that do those things, do those things because they want to do those things. They can be as aggressive as my boys. They can be in the wrong too." He glanced back into the Alamo Freeze, seeing that Julie was grabbing the two bags of food and walking toward the car. "Our daughter? She's not one of those girls. I know that and, deep down, you know that."

On the ride home, he thought about Mo. The car was silent now that Julie was present, but he could remember Mo's words in that locker room like it was yesterday. He remembered how he masturbated that night thinking of Tami being with him and another girl. He remembered it vividly, marking that as the first day he thought of Tami as more than a friend.

 _They were getting ready for practice, as he heard Mo's voice shout across the locker room. "Hey Taylor!"_

 _Eric turned his head and gave a nod. He knew what this was about. He started putting on his cleats, breaking eye contact._

" _I heard you let Brittany loose? What happened? Her legs locked at the knee?"_

 _Eric never wanted to reveal too much, especially to Mo. He was right though. Eric spent six weeks working around the bases with her, but could just never get home. Plus, she started nagging him for more. More time, more tasks, more social events. He knew it was time. "Yeah, something like that."_

" _Back to Laura, huh? You won the rally girl lottery with that one."_

 _Again, another true statement. Laura always seemed to be waiting in the wings. She was always available, playing it cool with him. She never expected much, but was always a sure thing. "Not sure what's next."_

" _Well, you're crazy man. I know for a fact that Laura is ready to do anything for you and with you."_

 _Eric pretended to keep himself busy gathering his equipment so Mo didn't see the smirk that played on his lips. He couldn't help it. He knew Mo's words held some weight._

" _And if you wait for it to come to you, I'm going to sneak in and grab those offers."_

 _That got Eric's attention. Mo has been with Tami forever and although he saw Mo flirting with other girls, he wasn't aware that he was actually cheating on her._

" _I've got Tami this close…" He said holding his thumb and index finger about an inch apart. "…to agreeing to a threesome with me and who knows…maybe Laura."_

 _Eric was shocked. He never thought she would be into that. He felt a twinge in is pants as he thought of Tami sexually with another girl. He couldn't help but think how hot that was. He couldn't wait to get home to relieve himself with those thoughts._

After they had dinner and Julie was in the confines of her bedroom, Tami took a seat on the couch across from Eric's recliner which he was currently occupying. "When we were in high school, how many girls did you know did that?"

Damn. He thought he escaped. "Did what?"

She gave him a knowing look and when he didn't answer, she got up and started walking toward the fridge. She grabbed an open bottle of white, two wine glasses and returned to the living room. "You know what."

"I don't know, Tami. Why are we talking about this?"

"Because I'm curious." She feared the answer to her next question. "How many of the guys thought I did those things."

"Why does it matter to you? All of this happened twenty years ago."

"It matters."

"Everyone knew Mo was a talker. He never said you did it. He eluded." He hoped that answer satisfied her. When he saw that she was thinking about it more, he decided he was no longer playing in this conversation. He picked up the remote, turned off the television and turned to Tami. "I'm going to bed." He knew if he didn't, this conversation was not going to end well.

The drama continued the following day for Tami. She couldn't get away from it this week. She tried to catch up with Lyla to relay a message to her mom about not attending book club. She didn't expect Lyla, who seemed so confident and secure, to break down in front of her. She walked them to the side of the school and sat on the steps that led up to the bleachers.

Lyla told her the whole story. She told her about the mistake she made with Tim, how she ended it because she chose Jason and now, how Jason started asking questions, acting suspicious.

Tami felt bad for her, but knew Jason and the Street family for years. Her heart really broke for Jason. _"Can I give you a little piece of advice? Jason Street has been hurt worse than he has in his whole life. Don't you hurt him more! You would not be telling him for him. You would be telling him for you. You let him heal. You move on with your life. You let him heal."_

"So that's it? I just walk away?"

"You have to, Lyla. You can't tell him and then expect him to forgive you like it wasn't a big deal."

"I love him, though. And I made a mistake. People make mistakes sometimes. Haven't you've ever made a mistake?"

She thought about how to answer this. She made tons of mistakes. She made them with the way she lost her virginity. She made them with Mo. She made them with Eric. Of course, she had made mistakes. Sadly, she knew too well how it was to feel the weight of someone else's mistake. "Yes. Of course. Sadly, though, I know what it feels like to be cheated on. It crushing. It's damaging. It's deteriorating."

Lyla was surprised to hear her relate so closely to the subject. "Were you able to recover? Did things work out?" She wasn't sure if she was talking about Coach Taylor or not.

She lightly chuckled. "No. He wanted it too. He tried, but I knew I couldn't recover. I would never be able to trust him again."

"Oh."

"But remember this Lyla. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. My situation was not meant to be. Trust me. At the time, I didn't think I would be able to ever regain trust in myself again. Time heals. Let him heal."

Eric, Tami and Julie were all prepping dinner in the kitchen that night as Tami toyed with the idea of telling Eric about her conversation with Lyla. She knew Lyla told her in confidence and she wanted to respect that. Tami started to think about the opposing argument for Jason. She knew how tough this was going to be for him. She was barely paying attention to the conversation going on between Eric and Julie until she heard Julie say, "… _and Matt Saracen asked me out on a date."_

 _Eric dropped the large glass salad bowl on the countertop, breaking her out of her thoughts and processing what Julie just said._

 _Julie noticed the shock on her parents face. "Just putting it out there."_

Tami looked at Eric nervously. He knew that look, knowing Tami was struggling to find the words as she was completely unprepared for this conversation. Say something. Say something! Her eyes pleaded with him. Eric found his voice and spoke. _"What'd you say to him?"_

" _I told him I was considering."_

" _Oh."_ Eric replied, a little grateful his daughter was controlling the situation. But he also knew Matt and knew this kid didn't need any sort of rejection.

After they sat for dinner, unbeknownst to Julie, Tami and Eric had a full conversation with their eyes.

"We need to talk about this." Hers spoke.

"Not now. Not in front of her. United front." His replied.

Julie eventually excused herself, claiming she needed to complete a reading assignment. The truth was she needed to get away from the awkward situation that was dinner. Eric watched her walk down the hall, and once safe in the confines of her room, he whispered. "Is she even allowed to date?"

"Why are you asking me that? I have no idea." Tami tried to remember what it was like to be fifteen. She definitely didn't want Julie doing what she did at fifteen.

"It's Matt. He's harmless. Thank God." Eric said, more to himself than to Tami. He was trying to justify what was happening.

"No boy is harmless. You know that. God, you must hear them talk. You know that they are conniving."

"I know how they talk and that's how I know he's harmless."

Tami lowered her voice almost to a whisper. "I'm worried about her and her comfort level with all this. Does she even know what to do, how to act, what she wants, how to drive the date? Have we taught her that she is in control? Not him?" She couldn't keep the panic out of her voice.

"God, Tami if she takes after you, she'll be able to torture him for months." He said chuckling, thinking back to his own personal torture.

"Yeah, well, I knew what I wanted and I knew how to get it." She teased.

 _He wanted to kiss Tami in the worst way. The first time he thought about it was when she was in his truck and driving her home from the hospital when Mo got into that fight. He never thought much past that until Mo brought up the conversation about Tami considering doing a three-way with him. Then he thought about Tami in all sorts of inappropriate ways. Then it happened. Tami found out about Mo's cheating. He waited until after football season. He waited what felt like an eternity to see if she had any interest in him. He waited forever, each day passing by hoping the time would give him more of a chance she'd say yes._

 _The first time he asked her out on a date, they were at a party. She was with some of her friends and he made his way over, asking if she needed a refill on her drink. When she said no, he decided now was his chance._

" _Can I take you out sometime?"_

 _She had no idea what he meant. "Out where?"_

" _Out – out. Like on a date."_

 _She'd never been asked out on a date like that before. He took her by surprise. "How much have you been drinking?" She countered. She wondered if he was drunk and it was the alcohol talking._

" _Never mind." He said, feeling defeated._

 _The next time he asked her for something, it was not to go out on a date. They were at a mutual friend's house, and she was clearly drunk. He thought that maybe because he was buzzed the last time he asked, that she felt like she had to say no. Now, he was sober and thought this might be a good time._

" _Hey." He said a little bit nervously. He saw Laura out of the corner of his eye watching him. He hated the lack of privacy he had at this moment._

" _Hey!" he said a little louder than he expected. She recognized his surprise, and felt like she had to make an excuse. "Sorry. I had a little bit too much to drink."_

 _He took the solo cup out of her hand. "Put that down." He said softly. "Let me go get you a water."_

 _When he returned to her, she was sitting on the ground, observing what was going on around her. He took a seat next to her and handed her the water bottle. "What are you looking at?" He asked, following her eyes across the yard._

" _Mo." She said sadly. Eric found Mo, talking to a group of three pretty girls._

" _He's not worth it."_

 _She laughed. "How would you know? You have probably never had to feel like this."_

" _I know because he's not worthy of you."_

" _Eric, you barely know me."_

" _I know enough." He stared deeply into her eyes, thinking about what it would be like to kiss her. She held his stare and Eric ever so slightly leaned in. When she didn't pull back, he moved his eyes quickly to her lips, and then back to her eyes. "Can I kiss you? I really want to kiss you, Tami."_

" _I can't kiss you." She said breaking their eye contact. She turned her head back toward Mo, watching his every move._

 _He wondered if she meant she didn't want to kiss him at all, or just not kiss there, with Mo watching. The truth was that Tami didn't want to kiss him because she knew he was such a player. She needed him to chase because never before had he ever had to chase._

 _The third time he asked her, he thought for sure she would say yes. They were at school, both sober, and more time passed by. He knew Mo broke her heart and needed time to heal. The truth was he didn't want to wait any more. Plus, he heard she was at a school dance with one of the guys from the baseball team. The fact that she was open to dating definitely made him feel more confident._

" _How'd you do on your chemistry test?" He opened the conversation._

" _How'd you know I had a chemistry test today?"_

" _I know a lot of things about you." He said, flashing his sexiest smile._

 _Tami closed her locker, wanting to walk away. She knew why he was there. She knew she wasn't going to be able to resist him forever. "Yeah? Like what?"_

" _I know you like chocolate chip cookies. I know the kind of music you like. I know you go to work after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I know you have a little sister." He could have gone on forever. He could have said he knew what her hair smelled like, that he knew all her different types of smiles, that he knew how smart she really was. He couldn't tell her any of that because he thought that would scare her away. He settled on telling her what she thought she might want to hear at this moment. "I know you didn't deserve what Mo did to you."_

" _Thanks." She said, feeling her walls crumble a little._

" _Would you like to go out on a date with me? And before you ask what I mean by that, I was thinking dinner and maybe a walk around the lake?"_

" _That sounds nice Eric, but I can't." She wanted to say yes, but she knew better. She knew Eric had a million girls falling over him. She didn't need to get hurt again._

 _When she walked away from him, he stood there stunned. Why was this girl giving him such a hard time?_

 _He thought about where he was going wrong? He figured maybe he didn't know her at all. Maybe she didn't know him at all either. Over the next two weeks, he decided that he needed to put in the time with her. He sought her ought in the halls at school, walking her to class. He spent the second half of his lunch period at her table. He drove her and two of her friends home from school almost every day. He stayed at the library later than he wanted to just talk to her a little more._

 _They were getting to know each other. Tami laughed with him, seemed to be enjoying spending time with him and Eric realized they had more in common than he expected. He figured he would ask one more time._

 _They were all hanging out at the Alamo Freeze after school, and Tami started to walk out when Mo walked in. He followed her into the parking lot, and offered her a ride home. They didn't talk about anything in particular, but Eric's mind was racing with how to approach her. He decided to be direct. He always was. He pulled up to her house and put the car in park. "Tami, I would really like to take you out. And before you say no again, I swear this is the last time I am going to ask. I can't keep bothering you about it and I can't keep making a fool of myself."_

" _Eric, I can't. I'm sorry." She started to gather her books, and opened the passenger door to his car. By the time she stepped out, Eric managed to meet her on the sidewalk standing in her way so she couldn't get away._

" _Why? You know me. We're friends now. Is there something I'm missing here?"_

 _Tami didn't want to hurt his feelings, but knew she couldn't keep doing this. "I just don't trust you Eric."_

" _You don't trust me? You don't even know me in that capacity."_

" _I know enough. I know how you have never really settled down with anyone. It's almost as if you are not capable."_

" _Give me a chance? One chance?" His eyes were pleading._

 _She wanted to just say yes. She was so attracted to him, but her head spoke louder than her heart. She wondered if she would ever again feel with her heart first. "If you can make it a few weeks without hooking up with anyone else, I will consider it."_

 _He was not happy with that response and not because he wanted to be with anyone else. He was upset because she hadn't even noticed that he hasn't hooked up with anyone else in weeks. Even when Laura offered him a blowjob in the locker room after hours, he declined. He needed to take a little bit of control. He felt like Tami had him by the balls._

 _He leaned in and kissed her. When she didn't immediately pull back, he put his hand behind her head and pulled her a bit closer. He wanted to taste her, but didn't dare open his mouth. He knew not to push her too far._

 _When Eric pulled back, Tami was speechless. She never felt a kiss leave her speechless, powerless. She couldn't formulate a coherent thought and Eric's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "How many weeks is a few?" He really wanted to do that again and needed a timetable._

" _One month." She said as she walked toward her house._

 _It was a torturous month for Eric. With the few weeks prior to that kiss and adding in another month, Eric thought he was going to die. Over the next two weeks he snuck in a few pecks here and there, always taking Tami by surprise. He wanted so much more. He needed more._

 _He didn't have to wait the full month to go on their first date. They were at a party on a random Saturday night and Eric was drunk. Tami stayed with her friends, but watch him like a hawk all night. She watched some cheerleader leaning in close to him, but Eric pushed her away. She watched as Laura whispered something in his ear, sending him into a fit of laughter. He shook his head, letting her know whatever she offered, he was not interested._

 _He was leaning against the banister railing, as she walked over to him. He watched her the whole way, wondering what she was thinking._

" _Hi." She said, not daring to lean next to him. She had to keep her distance._

 _He gave her a smile that made her knees weak. He had an incredible smile. "Hey!" She half slurred, half sung._

" _How's your night going?" She asked playfully._

" _It could be going a lot better, but only you have the power to change that."_

" _Eric…" She started. She wanted to tell him this was hard for her too. She wanted to explain it was the only way she could judge if he was really serious about her or not._

" _Shh…." He slurred. "I'm going to tell you a secret."_

 _She laughed, realizing he was really drunk. "Oh yeah? What's that?"_

" _That's wasn't the last time I would have asked. I'd wait for you to say yes forever." He pushed himself off the rail, wanting to be closer to her, but he stumbled a bit. He apologized for his misstep, but then continued. "I'd keep asking and asking and asking."_

 _He was so cute and she just couldn't help herself. "Next weekend. "_

Tami decided that she wanted to talk to Julie about Matt and exactly what her thought process was. Tami wanted to have an open conversation about it and be better than her own mother was with her. She laid on the bed next to Julie, trying to play it cool, but Julie called her out.

" _You're just freaking out because I got asked out on a date."_

" _I'm not freaking out. Not freaking out. I think it's great. I think it's nice. I'm just …ummm…."_

" _Freaking out?"_

" _No. I mean I sit in that counselor's chair all day. I kind of get a sense of what goes on over there at that school." Three ways were the only things popping in her mind. "And I just want to make sure you are comfortable…"_

" _I haven't even told him yes yet."_

" _Okay good. I mean…oh." God, she needed to be better at this._

She thought about what to say next. She wanted to make sure it sounded right. "If and when you do say yes, whether it be to Matt or someone else, I need to tell you some things."

"I don't need the sex talk mom. It was humiliating enough the first time."

"I'm not giving you the sex talk. I want to give you the dating talk."

She laughed.

Tami was serious. "All I'm going to say is that you have to stay in charge of any situation you are in. That is your right as the girl. You make the decisions." She thought back to April and how that girl felt like she had to do what that football players asked of her. "You call the shots. Your father and I raised you to be independent and respectful. Don't give that up because some boys asks you too."

"It's one date mom." Julie didn't understand why her mom was coming down so hard on her about this.

"I know."

The next day, Tami was waiting for Eric to come home as she prepared dinner for Billy and Tim. When Eric walked through the door, he could tell Tami was in major panic mode.

" _Hey come here. What's wrong?"_

" _She's on the phone with Matt Saracen."_

 _Eric knew nothing he was going to say was going to calm her down, but figured he would try. "Look, you got to stop with this Matt Saracen bit. He's a good kid. Don't worry about it. Just relax, would you?"_

 _Why didn't Eric understand her point? "You know what honey? He's a good kid now, but he's about to become the star quarterback of your football team where we know they just like to use these girls and throw them away."_

" _Wait a sec. Wait a second there. First of all, she's my daughter too. Second of all, I'm not the enemy. And don't start lumping all of us into this culture you've created. "_

" _What are you talking about? I'm not creating some kind of culture."_

 _The doorbell rang, and Tami knew this conversation had to end. "All I'm saying is you can't do anything about them but you can talk to your daughter. It would make me feel real good if you talk to your daughter."_

' _I will talk to her. I'll talk to her. If you will relax, I'll talk to her. I'll have a talk with her tonight."_

 _Tami starts to walk away, but he stops her. "Wait." He kisses her and hopes she will relax a bit. "You look beautiful."_

The next day Eric decided to visit Jason. He missed him, plus he wanted to get a little background info on Tim. Whenever Eric reached out to help a kid, he needed to gather as much as he could about him. Eric sensed from Jason's one word answers about Tim that they weren't as close anymore.

Eric could tell he didn't want to talk about Tim anymore and changed the subject to quad rugby. He tried to explain to Eric how everyone keeps telling him that he's not ready. He didn't know what Coach was going to say to assure him, but he definitely didn't expect him to reveal this.

" _Sixteen years ago I wasn't ready to be a father. I'll tell you that. I wasn't ready for responsibility. You cannot be prepared for something like that. Believe me. But you grab the bull by the horns and you move on. You? No seventeen year old kid should have to go through what you have to go through right now."_

 _Jason looked away._

" _No. Stop!" Jason turned back. "You're dealing with it. You're doing what you're supposed to do. You're being a man about it. Go with your heart."_

"You think so Coach?"

"Play with your heart Jason. You always did – with a full heart. That's what made you great. Now deal with this. Make yourself great at this. I'm proud of you son."

On the drive home, Eric thought about that moment of total panic.

 _He was 22 years old and he and Tami were about to be married. They just graduated, and Tami's plan was to start graduate school right away while Eric secured a teaching job for the fall, while assistant coaching at a small school in College Station. He walked in from a coach's meeting and Tami was reading the course catalog._

 _She looked up at him and he immediately could tell something was off with Tami. He couldn't pinpoint it, but he thought Tami looked a little pale._

" _How was your day?" He asked, as he threw his hat on the kitchen table._

" _Good." She picked her head up to meet his lips for a kiss._

 _She put her head back down and continued to read. "Everything okay?" He asked._

" _Sure."_

" _Are you sure?"_

" _Yeah." She didn't have a clue on how to explain her fear._

" _Did something happen with my dad? Is it about the wedding?" Eric's dad had been putting the pressure on them to marry in a church, but they decided they wanted to marry outside by an ordained minister._

" _No. Nothing like that."_

" _So it's something." Eric could feel the heat rising in his chest, almost afraid to ask this next question. "Are you getting cold feet? Are you having second thoughts?" Eric thought for sure they were past this. They trusted each other whole heartedly. He desperately needed to hear her reassure him._

 _Tami smiled. "Oh, Eric. I love you. You know that right?"_

" _You're scaring me."_

" _I'm not going to lie. I'm scared myself. Can you please sit down?"_

" _I can stand. What is it?" A million thoughts were running through his head. Did she cheat on him? Was it a onetime thing? Was it his dad? Was he sick? Was she sick? Were they being evicted?_

" _Eric, please sit down." After he sat, she turned her body to face him. She folded her one leg under and pulled her knee to her chest hugging it. It was her defensive position. When Eric looked at her, she spoke. "I'm late."_

" _Late? Late? What do you mean late?" He knew exactly what she meant._

" _I always get my period on the 29_ _th_ _day. I am like clockwork. I mark the calendar with an "X" and look when the "X" is."_

 _Eric got up immediately and headed into the kitchen to look. It was four days ago. He walked back over, but didn't sit down. He started to pace. "Tami, it's only four days." He tried to reason._

" _You are going to be teaching health. I think you know that 4 days is still considered late."_

 _Eric tried to replay the past few weeks in his head. He was trying to pinpoint when this could have happened. They were usually so careful. Usually. Not always._

" _Graduation night." She said as if she was reading his mind. "I know we were celebrating and drinking a lot that night. Remember, we didn't make it to the bedroom. We didn't seem to think we had time to grab a condom."_

 _Eric continued to pace, his step becoming faster and his turns becoming sharper. "This can't be happening Tami. We are getting married in two weeks. You are going back to school. We rent a one-bedroom apartment."_

 _Tami could feel the tears pooling against her eyelids. This is not how she imagined this moment in her life would be like. Eric stopped pacing and turned to face her. When he saw she was about to cry, he came back to the couch and sat down. "I'm sorry." He didn't realize how much his words were hurting her. "Let's just take a test. It's crazy to think about any of this until we confirm it."_

 _He pulled her into a hug. She started to cry a little bit, but tried to hold it back. He rubbed a hand through her hair, trying to sooth her. "I'm so scared, Eric."_

" _Me too. But you know what? We can be scared together."_

When he got home, he asked Julie to play ping pong. They had their best talks over that table. He promised Tami he would talk to her, so he thought this might be the best way.

" _How's your dating situation going?"_

" _Good." Julie wasn't sure where he was going with this. She hit the ball off the table._

" _I take it from your limited response that you don't think it's any of my business?" Eric asked as he chased it._

 _When Julie didn't answer, Eric put the paddle down after he chased yet another ball. He looked her straight in the eye so he could get his point across. Tami said she wasn't so successful with her own conversation with Julie so he needed to be direct and honest. "Alright, listen. I'm supposed to give you some fatherly and wise advice at this time in your life. Listen up. If you're wondering if a boy is thinking about you, he's not. He's thinking about sex or he's hungry. Those are the only two options."_

" _Are you trying to be funny?" That was a very different explanation of how a boy's mind works._

" _No. I'm not finished. Boys think about sex every single minute of the day. That's what they do. That's why they lie. They're going to leave you waiting around for them to call, and they won't call. They're going to be cruel and they're going to be misleading. And your mother wanted me to add this… that by-in-large football players are the worst offenders, however I think it pretty much crosses all lines. "_

" _You done?"_

" _You are beautiful, you are sensitive, you are sweet and I don't want to see you get hurt." Eric knew that logically he couldn't prevent that from happening._

" _I love you too dad."_

" _You're a lousy ping pong player."_

He thought it was a good talk. He thought it went really well. Julie knew how much he loved her and as a father, that was more than he could have asked for. He didn't have to get into details about Matt or that they were both a little nervous about her starting to date. He just wanted to make her aware of what it looked like from the other side. He felt he got his point across.

Julie retreated to her room, as he put the paddles away. When he came back in the house Tami was sitting on the couch, and he could faintly hear Julie talking on the phone. He was feeling confident and if he knew one thing, his confidence was a huge turn on for Tami.

He sat down in his recliner as Tami was waiting to hear how it went.

" _Contrary to popular belief, I'm very good communicating with the woman folk."_

 _She hated when he was too confident. "Sweetheart? That's just ridiculous. Now tell me what happened."_

" _I'm telling you." He turned his head toward her. "You can rest easy that she has now received fatherly advice." He gave her a wink._

" _Are you sure?" Tami wasn't feeling confident at all._

Just as he was about to answer, Julie came out of her room and down the hall. Tami's eyes were burning a hole through the side of Eric's head as Julie told them she decided to go on a date with Matt. What the hell did Eric say to her?

Julie went back down the hall to her bedroom and closed the door. Tami's eyes went from the television right back to Eric. She muted the television. "What did you say to her?"

Eric didn't want to admit it, but he had no idea how the conversation in the garage that should have scared her away from Matt Saracen ended up leading her right to him. "I told her how boys see her. I told her that all they think about is sex. I figured that would scare her away."

"Did you ever think that would intrigue her?"

"No. Intrigue her? I told her that they would be cruel and misleading."

"It's new to her, Eric. She's curious."

"Curious about having sex?" There was no way his little girl was thinking about having sex. That was his little girl.

"Yes! Do you realize I was already having sex at her age?"

"I don't like to think of you having sex, unless it's with me. I try to mentally block it out."

"Please!" she chortled. "You really need me to remind you of the parade of girls you slept with at her age? And God know what else you did, experimented with?"

"What does that mean?"

"You seriously are going to try and lie about the fact that three-ways weren't constantly thrown your way?"

"I never pressured anyone to do anything. I want Julie to know what these boys are thinking. And to be honest, I think Matt is a good kid. I think we are lucky."

The truth was that Eric was worried. He was worried about Julie and how she was going to handle herself in this situation. He was worried about Tami and how she was going to trust Julie to not follow in her footsteps. He was worried about Matt and how he was going to handle his Julie.

 _ **-Type something in that little box and click "Post"!**_


	9. Full Hearts

**Full Hearts**

 **Season 1 – Episode #9**

 **Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg and written by Aaron Rahsaan Thomas. As per suggestion from "Velveteen Habit" I will just claim that all recognizable dialogue is not mine. My flashbacks will be in italics. Please feel free to weigh in if I should go back to the original format of using italics for both.**

 **ICanStopAnytime:** I try in this chapter to slowly have Eric change his mind about Matt. It is hard because there is a love he has for this kid, but it gets compromised when it comes to his daughter.

 _ **Velveteen Habit**_ : I hope this format is less confusing.

 _ **Naguabo:**_ Thanks for the kind words. Their parenting style is something I fell in love with from the beginning of watching this show.

 _ **To all the 'guest' reviewers:**_ Thank you for taking the time to review.

 **A/N: I feel like I can keep apologizing for the delays in updates, or I can just do my very best to update when I can. I do love writing these chapter, but it is time consuming. I hope you understand and that people are still reading.**

Tami would be lying if she didn't admit how worried she was about Julie starting to date. She felt as if her control was slipping away. She questioned if Julie knew what she was getting into with Matt Saracen. Of all people, she had to date someone on the football team.

Football boys always toyed with girls in a way she did want her Jules toyed with.

She heard Julie on the phone very early this morning and her girlish laughter only told her one thing – she was talking to Matt. As she made her way out to the living room, to complain once again to Eric, she found him reading the paper. He was completely clueless to what's going on around him.

"Almost ready for school?" She asked as nonchalantly as she could. She didn't want Eric to know she was completely freaking out.

"Mmmhm." Eric somewhat replied as he took a careful sip of his hot coffee.

She couldn't hold back. "She's on the phone again with Matt Saracen. I don't think this thing is going away."

"I haven't even had my coffee yet. I don't want to talk about this right now."

"I'm just saying, I think it's becoming a thing. I mean it's a thing. And you know what thing it is? It's that thing we always knew was going to happen to our little girl. It's that thing. That thing is happening right now.

"Well, at least she's not interested in a serial killer or…or one of the Riggins"

Tami laugh, knowing her husband is trying to lighten the mood.

Later that day, Eric overheard Bradley talking to Matt about something having to do with Riggins. Something wasn't right with his boys and he could sense it. There was a disconnect and he knew that part of his job was to fix it. He thought about Tami and how she dealt with kind of thing all day long. He decided to just call her and ask if she knew anything.

"Hey babe!" He spoke when she answered her office phone.

"What do you need Eric?"

"Why do you think I need something? Can't I just call my wife if I want to?"

"You never just call me, Eric."

"Fine." He gave in. She knew him too well. "What's going on with Riggins?"

Tami hated when he did this. She knew those kids opened up to her because they trusted her. She never betrayed their trust and Eric knew that. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm hoping you are going to help me gel my team back together. Something is up."

It always surprised Tami when Eric picked up on these types of things. In front of everyone around him, he pretended he was completely unaware of the personal lives of his players. But Tami knew better. She knew he would run his practices in a way where relationships formed the way he wanted them to. "How many times do I have to tell you that I cannot tell you what goes on in my office?"

"So something is going on?"

From the way Eric was talking, she assumed that word got out about Lyla and Tim. She knew that something like that would cause a rift in his team. Those boys held a certain loyalty to Jason because of his injury on that field. "You know what I hear in my office stays in my office. I can't believe you are trying to ply me for information."

"Fine. I'll get to the bottom of it." He knew those kids could never keep their mouths shut when it came to gossip. "You get the email about us meeting Mayor Rodell in the front office in an hour?"

"Yeah. See you there."

When she arrived at the office, Mayor Rodell had Eric cornered, going over what her game strategy would be for Gatling this upcoming Friday. She loved how her husband had the ability to be so diplomatic when people told him how to do his job. It was part of his southern charm that she always credited his father with. Eric's dad was tough but he made sure Eric always handled himself properly in every situation.

Mayor Rodell quickly explained the hotel situation and how she wasn't going to be able to be there to play mediator between the folks at Gatling and Buddy Garrity. Bypassing Eric she tuned to Tami and asked her to go in her place. Tami was clearly surprised and although Eric should have stepped up and said something on Tami's behalf, he was just happy she wasn't asking him to go with Buddy.

Tami stood there a bit stunned and a bit confused. As if that wasn't enough, the mayor exits the conversation saying, "wear something pretty and you know…" She put her hands on her own chest, pushing her own breasts together. "…you'll have them eating out of your hands."

When Mayor Rodell exited, Tami turned to Eric, but he pretended that what just happened was nothing out of the ordinary. Tami followed him into the hallways. "Thanks for the help with that." She said sarcastically, with a twinge of annoyance in her voice.

"What'd you want me to do?" He asked defensively.

She gives him a knowing look. "Just for that I am going to wear something very promiscuous, just like the Mayor asked."

"What? Why?"

"Just to piss you off!" She said walking away, loving to get the last word.

During practice Eric noticed how the boys were with Tim. There was no flow, almost a divide on the field. Eric figured his best bet was to talk to Matt. He knew Tami wasn't going to help him. Matt was one of the captains and it was his job to inform him of such things going on the field.

"Hey Matt. Come here." Eric caught Matt after practice as he was walking toward his car. Eric noticed the other boy who always seemed to be with Matt. "Hey Lance. How you doing?"

They both tried to correct him. His name was Landry, but the coach was not listening. He was concentrating on getting to the root of his problem. "Can I talk to you over here for a second?"

"What's up Coach?"

Eric figured to put Matt on the defensive so to scare the truth out of him. What better way than to use his daughter. "Big date night tonight?"

"Oh, yeah. But um, I'll have her home early after the movies."

It worked. "Oh, I know you will. I know you will. What's going on with Riggins?" He cut right to the chase.

"Uh, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is I have eyes. I want to know what's going on out there."

"With all due respect sir, I don't really feel it's my place to say anything, so I'm…I'm not going to."

"You know, I appreciate your allegiance to your teammates, but you're also team captain, so if there's something going on out there that's going to affect his game Friday night, I'd suggest that you tell me."

"Well, it's just…It's just a rumor."

"What kind of rumor?"

"About someone he hooked up with….maybe." Matt hated to be a rat.

"Someone he hooked up with?" Eric wasn't a hundred percentage sure what that exactly meant, but he knew he had to get to the bottom of it.

"And I don't even think it's true so that's why…"

"Who is it? Spit it out .It doesn't have to be anything between us. Spit it out."

"With Lyla."

"Lyla Garrity?" Now, all the pieces of the puzzle were fitting together.

"Yeah."

"Alright." Eric couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice. Tim and Jason were best friends. Why would Tim do that?

"Can I go now?"

"Yeah. Have a good time at the movies." Eric was brought back to what was more important at that moment. He raised his arm and pointed his index finger at Matt to get his point across. "Hey, my daughter and I talk a lot."

Later that night, Tami and Eric were sitting at the table finishing up dinner while Julie was in her room getting ready for her date.

"You're awfully quiet." Eric said as he watched Tami toy with her engagement and wedding rings.

"I'm nervous. I'm nervous for Julie."

"There's nothing to be worried about. I spoke to Matt today. He's more nervous than you right now. Don't worry. You need to relax."

Tami looked at Eric, wondering how she could explain where her worry stemmed. "I'm so uncomfortable with this. All I keep thinking is how she is going to behave tonight – how Matt is going to behave tonight." When Eric didn't respond, she continued. "Do you remember our first date?"

"Of course I do." He knew better than to answer that any other way.

"Do you remember how you felt that night? What you wanted to happen that night?"

 _Eric was more than excited to finally be able to take Tami out on a real date, their first date. He was done, trying to sneak and steal kisses from her. He was tired of waiting for her all together. She drove him insane over the past few weeks._

 _He planned a relatively simple date. He avoided the movies because he didn't want silence between them. He avoided anything too fancy, not wanting to pretend he was something he was not. Besides, Mo took that route with her. Mo had money. Well, his family had money. Mo had a fancy car. Mo had the best things money would buy her. He needed to take a different approach._

 _Eric briefly met Tami's mother at the front door, and when Tami came out he couldn't take his eyes off of her. When they walked down driveway, he grabbed her hand and led her to the passenger side of the car. He kissed her deeply, pushing his tongue in her mouth. He wanted more. He needed more. The kiss took Tami by surprise. She pushed him away, afraid of what she might do or how far she would let it go. She couldn't deny her attraction toward him, but she didn't want to give Eric the wrong idea of what was going to happen tonight. She knew what he was used to. She knew what he was probably expecting._

 _When they arrived at the arcade, Eric pulled into a parking spot in the back of the lot. It was dimly lit and somewhat private. He turned the key in the ignition and before opening the driver's side door, he place a hand behind her head and kissed her again. He pulled her toward him, urging for more._

" _Eric…."She said as she pulled away again._

"" _I'm sorry. I can't help myself." He gave her a puppy dog look she had trouble resisting._

 _After the arcade, he took her for ice cream. Tami was somewhat grateful they could walk from one location to the other. She sensed Eric was not a huge fan of public displays of affection, so when they did eventually get back into his truck, what was going to happen?_

 _It was unavoidable. He eventually had to drive her home. When they got to his truck he opened the door for her. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before shutting the door behind her._

 _When they arrived at Tami's house, 10 minutes before curfew, she was the one that couldn't help herself. She leaned in and kissed him goodnight._

" _Thanks for tonight. I had fun. It was good to spend some time out with you. Just us."_

 _He didn't say anything, but leaned in and kissed her again. He opened his mouth searching for her tongue. Their tongues circled and Eric's hands started to roam. They started on her shoulders, moved up to her hair, then down her back and around the front of her torso. His hands started to ascend._

 _He reached his desired area and broke the kiss. "Is this ok?"_

 _She couldn't resist. The heat she felt at her core was almost too much to bare. She wanted him to touch her anywhere at this point. She nodded her head quickly, wanting him to hurry and do so._

 _His left hand moved to her right breast and she reacted. She arched her back communicating that she needed more. He slipped his hand under her shirt and his fingertips were met with the lacy material of her bra. He squeezed and massaged her breast as he whispered, "You feel good in my hands, Tami."_

 _His voice broke her out of her needy thoughts, realizing she needed to take control of herself and this situation. Just as that thought crossed her mind, he tugged at the cup of the bra so he could now feel flesh on flesh. He teased and pinched her nipple and it quickly hardened._

 _It wasn't until he moved his hand away from her chest and downward that she became acutely aware of where she was and that she shouldn't be doing this on a first date. When she felt his hand slide between her thighs, she broke the kiss and finally spoke. "Eric, what are you doing?"_

" _I'm enjoying exploring every inch of you." He said, with a confidence that put her off a bit._

 _She pulled herself back from him even further. "What do you think is going to happen here tonight? In this car?"_

 _Eric was a bit surprised by her reaction. "I was hoping you were going to enjoy my explorations and maybe do a little of your own."_

" _I'm not going to have sex with you. Not tonight. Not like this."_

" _Okay."_

" _Did you think that was where this was going?"_

" _I was going to take it as far as you wanted to take it, but if this is where it ends tonight, I can respect that. I do respect you." He wasn't sure how to word this next part without misinterpretation. "No girl has ever made me wait before. Maybe that's what makes you different."_

" _Different? In a good way?" She asked._

" _I think so. I'm not sure what is going to happen with us, but I can certainly say that you have me intrigued."_

 _Tami decided it was time to get out of the car before she changed her mind. The sincerity in his eyes melted her and she needed to break away. "Well, Eric, the best things comes to those who wait." She gave him a killer smile and opened the passenger door and walked slowly away from him._

"Bring yourself back to that moment, Eric. Please think for a moment like the teenage boy you once were. Think of the things you wanted and almost expected me to do that night with you."

Eric could remember the disappointment he felt when he pulled away from her house that night. He remembered how he went immediately into his bedroom to jerk off because he desperately needed to release what she stirred up. He didn't want to think of Julie in that situation, and he was grateful that Matt was the boy taking her out tonight.

"I admit I was a bit of a jerk that night, but I was experienced. I was used to getting what I wanted. Matt doesn't have the experience to put any pressure on Julie. "

"Do you really know that?"

"Yes. I know what I know because my office is right outside that locker room. I know my boys." Eric said that defensively.

"I'm just afraid Julie is not going to know how to handle herself in this situation. I knew how to handle myself with you. My experience with Mo taught me that. I did things with Mo because I didn't know it was okay to say no."

"What do you want me to do? Scare him? Fine, I'll scare him when he gets here."

Suddenly, the bell rang and Eric was ready to play his role. He grabbed his beer off the table and walked toward the front door. When he opened it, he saw a nervous looking Matt dressed like he never saw him before. He clearly put in the effort to look put together.

"Evening Coach."

"Wait, wait, wait. Is that a Member's Only jacket?" Was Tami right? Were his intentions less than honorable?

"Uh yeah. What do you think? You think it's okay?" He asked nervously. At that moment, Eric realized that this kid had no father to bounce that sort of question off of.

Tami interrupted, seeing Eric's face, knowing he was starting to worry. They were always very good at taking turns with their feelings. If Eric was worried, Tami had to stay calm. If one of them was scared, the other had to be brave. If one of them was stressed, the other had to be the voice of reason. It was a dance they perfected over time. Tami saw the way Eric was eyeing Matt up and down and took over, welcoming Matt into their home.

Then it happened. Julie came out of her bedroom in a dress showing way too much cleavage, shoes that had too high of heels and the skirt so short, it didn't leave much to the imagination. They were going to the movies right?

"Uh-uh!" It was all Eric could muster.

Tami stepped in and took control of the situation. She ushered Julie back to the bedroom to change. Eric began to really worry as he watched Matt staring at his little girl. Now Eric was pissed. "Why don't you take your members only jacket and hang it on the coat rack?"

Matt, still staring at Julie as she walked away, turns back to coach. "Sorry. What?"

"Hang your jacket up Matt!"

Matt was still staring at Julie when Eric interrupted his thoughts. "Take a seat on the couch. Want a beer?"

"No thanks, I'm driving."

"I was joking." Did this kid really think he was being serious? Eric knew his boys got offered drinks all the time, but never by him. Never in his home.

When the door closed behind Julie and Matt, Tami turned to Eric seeing the concerned look in his eyes. "Now, you are going to worry?"

"What does the term 'hooking up' mean exactly?"

"Well, that answers that question." She said with slight smile.

"I'm serious. How far does that term stretch?"

Tami thought it was odd that her husband would ask this question. "What? Why are you asking me this?"

Eric told Tami about what he learned from Matt. Lyla and Tim 'hooked up'. Did that mean they had sex? Did that mean they just shared a kiss? Eric had trouble processing the betrayal and wanted to define how much of a betrayal it actually was. "This must be killing Jason." He finished his story with an empathizing tone. "Did you know about this?"

Tami frowned. "You know I can't answer that."

"Why the hell not?"

"You know why not!" She raised her voice, feeling like she needed to protect her job. "I can't be running to you every time I hear something that goes on with your players."

"I asked you today if you knew something was up with Tim and you didn't say anything."

"Exactly! I won't. I can't." Tami wondered why he cared so much. "Has Tim been having trouble focusing?"

"Tami, you know Tim never really is engaged one hundred percent during practices."

"Then what's with all the questions?"

"Jason." He simply stated. "My heart breaks for that kid."

"It's not your fault, Eric."

"I know that. It's taken me awhile, but I know that. It's just…." He thought about how to ask this without opening up old wounds. "…how far did Tim take it? How far is 'hooking up'?"

"Does it matter?" Tami wondered if a certain level of physical contact with another woman would hurt her any less. "Want to define it?"

Eric turned his head a little too quickly, his eagerness bared to her. "Huh?"

"Want to hook up? We can define it right over there." She said nodding her head toward their bedroom.

He didn't answer her with words, but immediately with his lips. He walked her backwards, and spun her around as he entered through the doorway of their room. He shut the door behind her and playfully pushed her back until she was leaning against it. "I think I need a little clarity." He said with a wink.

The next day Eric decided to go see Jason. He couldn't keep his mind off of the hurt he must be experiencing. When he walked in, he made small talk about Quad Rugby. He also brought up Tim in a very generic way to get a read on how serious the situation was. Jason cracked first.

"Did you hear anything else?" Jason assumed he heard.

"Yeah. Yeah, I heard." Eric said sadly. If judging by how he and Tami defined it last night, he assumed Jason was hurting badly.

"Sorry I laid your fullback out." He wheeled away from Eric, afraid to let him see him cry.

Eric noticed how upset he was. "You ai'ght?"

"You know? It's just you think you know somebody and then you don't." He shook his head. "Just don't"

Eric wasn't sure if he was talking about Tim or Lyla. "I didn't come here to talk about that. I want you to know, you know, you don't have to be alone with it either. I want you to know that." Eric paced and stared at the ground as he said it. He didn't want to look Jason in the eyes, fearing he would read more into what he was saying. He didn't want Jason to know that he was not only sympathizing with him, but also empathizing. Betrayal is an ugly thing at any level.

 _During that summer before going off to college, there was a time when Eric felt that same kind of betrayal. Although Tami would not give into his wants and needs for sex, he knew he was falling for this girl in ways he never thought possible._

 _They started going out more frequently and some of their classmates started to notice. It wasn't long before word got out that they were officially an item. Unbeknownst to Eric, Mo made several attempts to get Tami back. He called, he wrote her letters and he even waited several times after school offering her rides home to make his pleas. He had no idea Tami moved on, let alone moved on with one of his teammates. This was the precise reason Tami didn't want anyone to find out about the two of them, especially in the fragile beginning of their relationship._

 _Tami never told Eric about Mo's attempts. She didn't see the point in disclosing that information. It wasn't as if she would ever act on it. It wasn't as if she had any interest in taking Mo back. She knew Eric would get upset and frankly she didn't see the point in that._

 _It scared Eric when he saw it with his own eyes. His anger drew up conclusions in his mind that broke him to pieces. She didn't see him across the street while she was waiting for her friend Melissa to finish her shift at the diner. It was a warm Texan night as she leaned against the exterior of the building, hoping they were going to make the movie they planned on seeing._

 _She heard the rumble of his fancy Camaro. Mo was the only 18-year old with a car that fancy. He pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car in front of where she was standing. Mo didn't notice Eric across the street either._

 _He asked her if she needed a ride, but she quickly explained that she was waiting for a friend. He pulled away, but she had a gut feeling that wasn't the last she would see of him. After he parked his car, he made his way over the where she was standing. As she leaned her back against the concrete wall, he leaned in close to her resting his right hand against the wall, beside her head._

 _Eric was frozen. A million thoughts swirled through his brain. Didn't she say she was going to the movies tonight? Why was she meeting Mo here? Did Mo know that she was his now? Why would Tami lie? How long have they been meeting like this? How could she do this to him? He only wished he was closer so he could hear their words._

" _So I guess we are officially over? I should stop trying to get you back." Mo said in his typical cocky way. He never lacked self-confidence, Tami thought._

" _I never asked you to try in the first place." She shot back._

" _Taylor?" He asked. He heard from one of the guys on the team. "That's what I heard. Taylor? What's he got that I don't?" He was sure he could change her mind._

" _He has a heart."_

" _Taylor?" He asked, startled by her defense. "Are you crazy? The only thing that guys feels is through his pants."_

 _Tami knew that is what everyone thought. Heck, she thought that at one time too. Time changed her mind and Mo's words irritated her. Tami thought to defend him, but what was the point. She knew Mo was just trying to make her feel bad about her recent decision to take a chance on Eric. As her frustration built, she became completely unaware of what was going on around her. If she did take a moment to pull herself out of this situation, she would have seen Eric standing across the parking lot, staring at the interaction unfolding right in front of his eyes._

 _Mo moved in even closer. "I know what I did wasn't right. I know I could have been better. We were together for two years, Tami. Two years of really getting to know one another. I loved you. I still love you. You can't tell me those two years meant nothing to you. Please stop pushing me away."  
_

_Tami softened. She never seen Mo so exposed, so vulnerable. He seemed so sincere. She thought about all their good moments. She thought about how she felt the first time he told her he loved her. She thought about the first time she had sex with him. She thought about the countless kisses, the countless dates, and the countless laughs they shared._

 _She felt his hands cupping her face and her knees weakened a bit. She didn't know why she didn't stop him as she felt his lips on her. She stood still, almost in shock._

 _Eric couldn't take his eyes off their interaction. He wanted to turn away but he couldn't. It was like when you passed a bad car accident on the highway. You really don't want to see the wreck, but you look anyway. When he saw Mo touch her, he felt one of his buddies pull him away. He heard them offer some words, something along the lines that she wasn't worth it. He started to walk away, not seeing how the rest unfolded._

 _When she felt Mo's tongue probing at her lips, urging her to open her mouth, it sent an alarming siren off in her head. She moved her hands to his chest and pushed hard. When their kiss broke, she shouted. "What are you doing?"_

" _God, I missed kissing you. I missed doing lots of things with you."_

" _That can't happen again, Mo! I can't be with you because I can't trust you."_

" _And you can trust Taylor?" He asked incredulously._

" _He has yet to give me a reason not to trust him."_

" _Tami, don't be a fool. He has slept with more girls by the age of eighteen than I will probably sleep with in my entire life. That doesn't worry you? You think you're going to be his last."_

 _Tami didn't want to tell Mo they haven't slept together yet. It wasn't his business and it was likely Eric would not want that information revealed. "It's none of your business, Mo."_

 _It wasn't for another two days and two nights that Tami had to explain to Eric what happened. Tami quickly learned that trust was a two way street. It wasn't all about her trusting Eric. She needed to gain Eric's trust too._

"I'm sorry you are going through this." Eric said to Jason. He wanted to let him know he once wore those shoes. "I have an idea how it feels and it hurts like hell."

Jason looked at him waiting to elaborate, but Eric would never reveal that much about himself. "I didn't come here to talk about that either." He said with a slight smile.

The next morning Tami got out of bed first and Eric rolled over to watch her pick out her clothes for work. He knew she had to go to that meeting with Buddy, noticing it took her a little longer to pick out the right top. "Just because the Mayor told you to use what the good lord gave you as a bargaining tool, doesn't mean you have to. You know you can convince people with your brains."

She chuckled softly. "Yes, because it was my brains that attracted you to me, yes?"

"I don't want you attracting the attention of men to get what you want."

"Are you worried?"

"I'm not worried. Should I be worried?"

She ignored his question. "Are you jealous?" She said as she started to undress, so she could take her morning shower. "Because when you are unnecessarily jealous, I find that extremely attractive."

Eric climbed out of bed and closed the space between them. Tami was about to enter the bathroom when she felt Eric's arms envelop her from behind. She was facing the mirror watching him stare at her.

"Well then, of course I'm jealous, since you find that so damn attractive." His fingers played with the bottom hem of her Panthers t-shirt and in one swoop lifted it over her head. He rested his hands on her hips and his lips made their way to her neck and close to ear. "I'm jealous these men get to share a meal with my wife. I'm jealous that they get to stare at you all afternoon when I get to stare at Crawley and Mac."

She laughed again, loving Eric when he is playful. So many people know so many sides of him, but not this side. This side was reserved for her.

She spun around in his arms, facing him. "So confident on the field, so unsure of yourself in the bedroom."

"I'm not unsure. I know exactly what I want." He moved his hands to her face, and leaned in to kiss her. As he did so, he leaned his hips to crash into hers. She could feel his growing erection as she felt her backside being pressed against the countertop. He pulled back, staring into her ocean blue eyes. "I also know that other men want the same exact thing when they see you."

Her hands moved to the waistband of his pajama pants he wore. She slipped a finger underneath the elastic, running it alongside the material teasing him. "Good thing for you, I don't want any other men." She continued to tease him.

She removed her hand from his elastic and started to remove herself from him altogether. She needed to get in the shower. As she turned, topless, toward the bathroom door, he spoke his mind. "Don't want you getting any ideas of walking away from me."

She walked back and resumed her position in his arms. "Tell you what?" She cupped his face this time and kissing him softly. She moved her hands to the bottom his shirt and pushed it up and eventually pulled it over his head. She lowered her voice, giving him her sexiest tone. "Join me in the shower."

"Really?" He asked like he was a kid in a candy store, half surprised and fully intrigued.

"I think I need to remind you of how I feel about you."

He didn't answer her, but took her into the bathroom and shut the door behind them. Their kisses were sloppy and rushed. Eric felt like there was no time. A part of him didn't want Tami to change her mind and the other part of him didn't want to wait. All that teasing got to him and he needed her immediately if not sooner.

She once again played with the elastic, but only for a mere second or two, before pushing them down past his erection. He moved his hands to his boxers and assisted with pushing those down. Tami stepped back from him, locking her eyes with his, and playfully pushed down her shorts. Eric couldn't help himself as he grabbed his penis and stroked himself slowly.

Tami faced the shower to turn the nozzle and adjust the temperature just right. When she turned back to face him, he was still touching himself.

"Nah-Ah." She said pushing his hand away. "Get in."

He laughed, wondering what she was up to. "Don't play with fire, Tami."

"Get in." She said again, smiling back.

"Fine, I'll get in. I trust you." He said it to make sure she knew how vulnerable he was at that moment.

Eric let the water cascade over his head and down his muscular body. He felt Tami getting as well, but when he opened his eyes, she was not eye level with him. She, herself, was cascading lower. The combination of her lips around him and the pressure of the water was almost too much to handle.

"Tami…"

"Hmmm…."

The vibration of that small response nearly set him over the edge.

"I should be…." He tried to get the words out but her mouth was doing ungodly things to him.

"Should be what?"

"I should be…." He tried to tell her that she was the one who was going to be surrounded by men. He was the one who should be taking care of her at the moment. Once she started to circle her tongue around his tip, he pulled her damp hair back and away from him. He looked down and smiled weakly. "C'mere."

He pulled her up to him and kissed her hard. He pushed her again the back wall and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. She felt his tip at her entrance, but stopped himself. "I trust you, always and completely." He plunged into her and gave her everything he had within him.

He gave her warning that he was about to come, but she couldn't get herself there in time. When he came down from his high, he kissed her again. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not. I got my point across."

He moved her under the water because she looked like she was getting cold. "Yeah?"

"You are all I need."

They showered and went along their day as if what happened in that shower was existent in all the marriages around them. They both knew that wasn't true. They both knew they were lucky.

 _ **\- I beg of you to review!**_


	10. It's Different For Girls

**It's Different for Girls**

 **Season 1 – Episode #10**

 **Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg and written by Andy Miller. Recognizable dialogue is his, but italics are my flashbacks.**

 **Guest Reviewers:** Thank you for taking the time to post something. I appreciate that someone is reading.

 **Naguabo:** I totally forgot about that line from the last episode. I wish I would have included it. And after seeing the season 2 finale, it seems that Mo was definitely not over what happened between them.

 **ICanStopAnytime** : Thanks for the lengthy update. I am sorry you have trouble envisioning Eric this way. I admit that I may have taken it too far.

 **A/N: I apologize for the time it took to update. I hope the length makes up for it.**

Eric arrived home about an hour after Tami and Julie from the Gatlin game. The Taylor women rode home in silence. Julie was busy fantasizing about the fact that Matt Saracen just kissed her and Tami was quiet, not knowing what to say about the kiss that she witnessed from the stands.

As soon as Julie stepped foot in the house, she went straight toward her room and closed the door behind her. Tami overheard her on the phone with Lois, recounting the events. Tami wondered if Julie even cared that she could hear her entire conversation. That thought spurred another horrifying thought. How much did Julie hear of the going ons in her own bedroom?

By the time Eric got home, Tami started to drift off on the couch. The sound of the front door and his footsteps stirred her and she sat upright.

"Hey Hon. Good game."

Eric put his bag down on the table and walked over to kiss her. As he sat down next to her, Tami changed her position to face him, squaring her shoulders and pulling one leg up to her chest. Eric rubbed his eyes, but he could feel her stare. "What's up?"

"Nothing." She didn't want to blurt out her concerns. She wanted him to unwind. "How was the ride home? "

"Uneventful." He stopped rubbing his eyes, and looked at her again. "What's up?"

Tami smiled, loving how he knew her. She took one of her hands and stroked his cheek. "You look tired."

"I'm not too tired." He said with a wink.

"You might be after I tell you this." She took a deep breath and then came out with it. "I saw Matt kiss Julie on the field tonight." When Eric didn't react, she continued. "On the mouth. Like a real kiss."

"What did Julie do?"

"She seemed surprised, and then sort of ran away."

"Maybe she didn't want him to do that." Eric said, not being able to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"Maybe she didn't know what to do." Tami countered.

Eric started rubbing his face again. "Why did he have to do that? In public like that? God, Tami. I'm not built for this."

"You?"

"Yeah, me. Her father." Eric thought about the boy he once was, always kissing girls in public. He never even thought of any of those girls' parents.

"Karma." Tami stated, reading his thoughts. "You used to kiss girls in public all the time."

"Not the ones I cared about."

Tami smiled knowing he was talking about her and how she desperately begged him to keep the beginning of their relationship quiet. He interrupted her thoughts. "If I only knew you were watching…."

He next morning on their drive to school, Eric was listening to Sammy Meade talking about how Eric should formulate his team this upcoming Friday.

"Can we please listen to something other than football?" Julie said, breaking the silence.

"No!" Eric thrived on listening to people talk about him. It motivated him to prove them wrong.

"It's giving me a headache."

"Yes we can, baby. Want me to sing? I'd love to sing." Tami interjected.

"No, please!" Eric really wanted to listen to Sammy Meade.

"I'll be gone on Saturday." Julie announced, not caring about what her parents were going to say about it.

"Where are you going on Saturday?" Tami glanced nervously over at Eric.

"There's this music festival at Belton Lake. Matt's going to take me."

"You're not going out with Matt on Saturday."

"We agreed that I get one date a weekend."

"Yeah, well how do you think you are going to get out to Belton Lake?"

"Landry is going to take us."

Tami hated the way Julie all of sudden thought she had all the answers. "Who is Landry?"

"That Lance kid." Eric said, knowing exactly who she was talking about. The only things he knew about Lance was that he was always hanging around Matt and he was not a football player.

"You're not going to Belton Lake with Lance." Tami didn't care who this kid was. She didn't know him. That was all that mattered.

"You won't be going out with Matt Saracen on Saturday because Matt Saracen is going to be with me at the cheerleading thing."

"Are you serious?" Julie figured Matt knew nothing about this. God, her dad was annoying.

"Yes, I am. We're all going. It's the cheerleading divisional championship."

Tami laughed at him. "No, it's not. It's the cheerleading classic."

"Well, I didn't read the whole email, but it's important and we are all going."

"Um, let me think about that. Pass. Cheerleading is even more pointless than football."

Julie's teenage sarcasm was increasing with time and Eric hated it. "That's a sexist, a sexist remark you just made. They support us every weekend and now it's time for us to support them. That's what's going to happen. End of conversation."

"You people are sick and I want my own car."

"She wants her own car." Tami said smiling. Who was this kid with the attitude?

"Dream on kid!"

Before practice, Eric was in his office going over drills and plays. He loved this part of his day. He loved the planning, but he also listened in on his boys. He got to know the inner workings of their lives without having to intrude, without asking any questions. He always wrapped up his coach's meeting 15 minutes before the boys arrived so he can situate himself in his office and go unnoticed. For some reason, they never thought he could hear them, or maybe they just didn't care. Eric felt like this was an advantage for him. He didn't use the information for any reason other than to make sure that those boys were bonding. And they did in that room – over football, over school, over sports and, of course, over girls.

Then it happened.

As the boys were suiting up, Eric heard Riggins busting balls about Smash and some girl. Then he heard the name "Julie" and he knew with Matt's newly formed relationship, they were talking about his daughter. He was afraid to do nothing, but afraid to interrupt. He didn't want these hormonal teenagers talking about his little girl, but he didn't want to blow his cover. The family man in him spoke louder and he got up out of his chair and stood in the doorway.

First, he heard Bradley throw out a bet regarding some girl Smash was interested in against Matt with his Julie. It's wasn't like they didn't know who Julie was, Eric thought. Brad referred to her as "Coach's daughter". That infuriated him even more. His boys were to be gentleman, especially when it concerned his daughter. He didn't want them to treat girls like this, but he knew it happened. He knew what he did when he was in high school. He couldn't stomach Julie being one of those girls.

Matt locked eyes with him, but with Smash's back facing the office, he had no idea Coach was there. "How 'bout it Matty? You think you could get the V-chip out of Julie before I can work my magic?"

Two thoughts crossed Eric's mind. The first was that Matt better handle this quick or he was going to kill Smash. The second was that his daughter was a virgin. He figured, but the confirmation felt good.

Matt made eyes toward the office, giving Smash the signal to turn and face Coach. Smash played it off, but Eric was pissed. He thought he taught them better than to disrespect his family.

Eric finally walked in the room and approached Bradley first. "Come here!" Eric knew Bradley was usually the ring leader with these conversations. He pulled Bradley's jersey and whispered vehemently in his ear. "If I hear you bring up my daughter in this locker room again, you are finished. Do you hear me?" He pushed Bradley away and turned to Smash and Matt. He was at a loss of words. He was so angry and he didn't need Matt getting any ideas from Smash on how to treat his daughter. He pointed a scolding finger at them, not needing words to express himself and walked away.

When Coach was out of ear shot, Smash spoke first. "Damn Matty, I'm going to easily win this bet now because Coach is never going to let you near his daughter."

"I didn't take on the bet."

That night at dinner, Eric was quiet. Tami didn't say anything to him in front of Julie. She knew Eric liked his space. He went into his office, which was actually the third bedroom that they converted into his space. When they first moved here, he would stay late at school using the network computers and getting home way too late. He would constantly be eating a heated up dinner, never having that dinner time conversation that Tami thought was so important. It was Tami's idea to set up a home office.

 _Eric walked through the door as it was close to nine o'clock. He put his bag down by the door and threw his hat and keys on the counter next to his plastic wrapped dinner plate. Tami was sitting at the kitchen table going through some files, looking up at him as he approached her._

" _Sorry I'm late." He leaned in for a kiss. He knew to always kiss his wife hello and goodbye. It was another thing his father taught him. He could remember his father saying that no matter how hungry, tired or in a rush you are, you always greet your wife. It was something that stuck with him._

 _She stroked his cheek, noticing the wear and tear this job is doing to him. "You looked exhausted. There's a plate on the counter for you. Just has to be heated."_

" _Thanks." He said walking back toward the kitchen. "I am sorry."_

" _Babe, you can't go on like this. We can't go on like this. I miss the days of us being able to sit down to eat together."_

 _Eric heated his plate in the microwave and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. "I know, but I don't want to have to do that stuff at home. I don't want to think about work when I'm here with you and with Julie."_

" _Yeah, but what if we came up with a compromise? Because I have to tell you, I miss going to bed together too."_

 _This got his attention. "What sort of compromise?" He carried his plate over to the table and took a seat adjacent to her. "I'd love to hear how we can formulate a plan for that."_

 _She smiled, loving how he would do anything to make time for her, for them. "Well, what if you came home after practice and player meetings and had dinner with us. Then we can set up the guest bedroom into an office and you can do a solid two hours of work afterwards. Then at least you are home and I can help you create the boundaries."_

" _Two hours? No interruptions?" He didn't think this was possible. He set his fork down, staring at her intently._

 _She smiled wickedly at him. "You won't mind my interruptions, but I promise they will only come when your two hours are up."_

 _He laughed a good hearty laugh. It was like music to hear ears because she hadn't heard it in so long. "I think I'm going to like this arrangement."_

" _Yeah?"_

 _He leaned in close to her, but stopped short so she would meet him half way. "Yeah."_

 _She leaned in and met his lips. Before he had the chance to deepen the kiss, she pulled away. "You want me to interrupt your dinner right now?"_

 _He laughed again. It felt good to be home._

Tami waited until Eric came to bed to ask him what's been plaguing his mind all night. Tami was settled under the covers reading a book when Eric passed through the doorway and headed straight to the bathroom. Moments later he came out in his boxers and a t-shirt, looking at her as he circled the foot of their bed. "What are you still doing up?"

"I'm waiting for the perfect moment to ask you what's going on. Why are you so quiet?"

He pulled back the covers on his side of the bed, but before letting himself crawl in, he put his hands on his hips and tilted his head back, looking at the ceiling. He drew a deep breath, wish he could find the words on the sheet rock above him. When he looked back at her, he noticed the concern in her eyes. "It's not bad." He clarified. "It just happened. Today, it finally happened."

"What happened?" She said, sitting up a little.

"Julie." He took a seat at the edge of the bed, his back the only thing visible to her. "The boys were talking about her in the locker room."

"What?" She sat all the way up, speaking the back of his head. "You heard them? What'd they say?"

"Nothing about her specifically, but I heard her name. I thought I was going to kill those boys."

Tami wanted the whole recount which he gave, including the "v-chip" comment from Smash. When he was done, he folded his hands in his lap, staring as them as he continued. "I don't want them talking about her like she is an object, a conquest. She is a smart, beautiful, sensitive, sweet young girl and…."

Tami climbed out of the covers completely and edged her way to sit next to him. She took his fidgeting hands in hers. "She's not going to be young forever, but I am glad they didn't reveal something about her that we wouldn't be happy about. I'm happy about that."

"It's only going to get worse if she and Matt continue on. Those boys are going to give Matt a hard time because she's my daughter and I am going to want to kill him." Eric raised his eyes to hers. "Kill him, Tami. I felt like I could have strangled all of them today."

"Weren't you the one telling me this wasn't a big deal? That Matt was a good kid?"

"Yeah, but I didn't figure on this part. I didn't think about all the outside, influencing forces. I didn't think of the Riggins and Smashes of the world telling Matt what to do."

Tami decided to take it in a different direction. "Did Mo give you pointers with me?"

"What? No. Why would you say that?"

"Who's to say that Matt…."

Before Tami could get her sentence out, Eric interrupted. "Let me stop you before you say something like you have compared the two of us over the years." Curiosity got the best of him. "Have you? Been Comparing? Because if you have been? All this time? I'm going to be sick."

Tami ignored his momentarily insanity. "I think Matt is his own person. I don't think Matt is going to be influenced by them." She placed a hand on his chin, turning his face toward her forcing eye contact. "You weren't taking pointers from Mo on what my wants and needs were. I mean that emotionally and physically. I know that."

Tami could tell Eric was thinking about Mo and her relationship with him, even after all these years. She wanted to bring him back on track. "The only thing we can do is teach Julie how to respect herself and teach her the way she should behave in most situations. "

She placed a soothing hand on his back to ease the tension. "I know that. I know." He said it as a way to end this conversation. Tami knew how to read him well.

"Get some sleep, babe. There's no sense in worrying about this right now. She is here, safe and under our roof. There's no need to worry right now. Not tonight, anyway."

He kissed her quickly, not thinking of anything else other than his little girl.

During lunch at school the next day, Tami noticed Lyla getting abused by some stoner kids trying to get a rise out of her as a result of her recent behavior. She hated seeing Lyla, who was a good kid, having such a hard time. It reminded her of why she wanted to keep her relationship with Eric a secret.

 _She was so afraid to ruin her reputation. She knew dating Eric would make her look like a total whore. She was so faithful to Mo for so long and he was the one that hurt her. He humiliated her. Tami was smarter to think that dating Eric would be okay with the teenage population of Dillon. Every one of those girls wanted Eric and her scooping him up would just piss them off to no end. She almost wished she didn't fall for Eric so hard and so fast._

 _Eric never cared what people thought. He always had that confidence about him that annoyed her when they first met. She had mistaken it as arrogance, but later learned he just really had a ton of confidence. It wasn't cocky and it wasn't arrogant. It was admirable and it was sexy._

 _After their first date, Eric had asked her to go to a party at one of his teammate's house. Tami politely declined, but Eric didn't fully understand._

" _Did you not have a good time the other night?" He was confused. He thought it went well, but maybe he pushed the physical part of their relationship too far. "I'm sorry if I upset you. It's hard to keep my hands to myself with you."_

" _It's not that. I like that you are interested."_

" _Then why won't you come to the party?_

" _It's just…." She didn't know how to explain it without sounding insulting. "I don't know if I have it in me to face everyone…with you."_

" _What's that supposed to mean?" The rigid line formed as he pursed his lips together. He tried to remain calm and give her the opportunity to explain._

" _It's just…."_

" _Are you embarrassed of me or something?"_

" _No." She quickly replied. "I guess I'm just embarrassed of the situation."_

" _And what situation is that?" He couldn't help think it was him._

" _Mo and I were together for months. What happened between us…what he did to me….is something that I will never forget. I feel like that betrayal is going to stick with me forever. He played me for a fool and it seems that everyone knew it, but me."_

" _What does that have to do with us?"_

" _Do you really want to have this conversation?" She tried to back pedal. "Because if we have this conversation, my honesty is going to cause a huge fight between us and that is not my intention."_

" _Well, now you have to be honest with me. You can't say something like that and expect me to just forget it." He urged her to move forward with her words. "Trust me that I won't intentionally react poorly. Give me a chance."_

 _She thought that this was serious conversation for the two of them to be having after only having one date. Maybe that is why this conversation needed to happen. "I don't want anyone to know about us because I don't want to be judged as a fool once again."_

" _What…."_

 _She tried to explain. "Eric, you have broken a lot of girls' hearts and I'm sure that everyone is going to think I am falling for yet another football player who is just going to play me for the fool."_

 _Eric tried to fully digest what she was saying. He didn't agree with a word of what she was saying, but wanted to understand why she was saying it. "Is that what you think I am doing? Or eventually going to do?"_

" _No." She said too quickly. "I hope not. But I don't want to show up to a party where everyone is going to tell me that I shouldn't trust you when ultimately you haven't given me any reason not to trust you. Does that make sense?"_

 _Eric didn't care what other people thought. He knew that the guys would be making all sorts of "sloppy second" jokes to Eric, but he could easily get past them. Why couldn't she get past the judgment? "Sure. I get it. Eventually though Tami, you will have to face those people. We will have to face them together."_

" _I know, but not yet. I want whatever is happening here to be between just you and me and no one else. I don't want Mo taunting you either. It's too soon for all of that. Don't you think?"_

At dinner that night, Tami sat with Eric at the dinner table, recounted what she saw happen to Lyla in the cafeteria. Although Eric never wanted to deal with the emotional onset of teenage drama, she still told him the story. He didn't know how to tell his wife that he didn't care about Tim Riggins love life.

She shuffled a deck of cards and he finished his dinner. He was just trying to formulate the words when the doorbell rang distracting him what would probably been an argument. "Go see who that is." She ordered.

Eric walked down the corridor, happy for the interruption until he swung open the door.

Matt.

The boy who was after his Julie.

He was dressed in something other than sweats or a football jersey. Eric couldn't keep the look of annoyance off his face. Why was he here? After what he heard in the locker room, did Matt really think this was the best way to approach dating his daughter? Coming over unannounced? On a school night?

"Hey Sir." He broke the awkward silence. He saw Tami and addressed her as well. "Ma'am. I was just wondering…" He started to take a few steps forward, walking through the doorway, but Eric held his position. He was not giving Matt any room to come in further. Eric looked as his feet, wondering what the hell this kid was thinking. "I was just wondering if …" Matt realized at that moment that he is not exactly invited in. "Oh sorry. I was wondering if Julie was here."

Eric then heard Julie's voice from behind. "Hey Matt. Hey Dad." She leaned passed Eric and reached for Matt's hand, something Eric did not like. "Umm, me and Matt are going to watch some TV."

"If that's okay?" Matt noticed Coach wasn't happy and knew that maybe Julie didn't tell him he was coming over.

When Eric turned to Tami for help, she gave him the "what are we supposed to do now" look. Tami figured it was best to give Julie and not embarrass her until they figured out how to handle this together.

Tami grabbed the cards and Eric's plate and retreated in to their bedroom. Eric thought this was ridiculous.

"Why am I eating my dinner on my bed? This is crazy!"

"Julie didn't seem surprised that he was here." Tami figured Julie invited him.

After he ate, Eric brought his plate into the kitchen, as an excuse to get a glimpse of what they were doing. When he returned Tami gave him a knowing look.

"What?" He feigned innocence.

"You can't keep going out there."

"Why? It's my house!"

"She lives here too. Let's play cards to keep you r mind off of them."

Playing cards didn't work. Eric was standing, not being able to imagine anything that would be okay with him going on out there. Tami noticed he was agitated. "Honey, stop pacing please."

"What do you suppose their doing in there?" He spoke his mind, wanting Tami to desparately share his worry.

"Probably having sex." She knew that wasn't true, but knew her comment would strike a nerve with Eric. She drew another card and started to giggle.

He looked up from his hand, staring at her incredulously. "That's not funny."

"Well, it's a little bit funny."

"It's not funny!" He said again.

"Sit down and play cards." Tami continued to ignore his irrational behavior.

"I don't like the fact that he just shows up here. That's not right."

"Well, I don't necessarily like it much either."

Eric folded his cards up and turnaround, heading for the door.

"Where you going?"

"I'm going out there."

"Come back here right now." She scolded.

"I'm going to go out there. I'll be back in a second. I'm going to get something to drink."

Who was he kidding? "Don't go out there. Don't…." She pleaded with little success. He was gone.

When he walked down the hallway, he saw the lights off and Julie and Matt under a blanket. He knew the blanket trick. He knew it well!

Eric turned on the lights. "How we doing out here?"

"Good, we're just watching TV." Matt nervously responded.

"What's with the blanket?" He was smarter than this kid. "Who told you, you could get a blanket?"

"It's cold in here." Julie defended.

"That's because I like to keep the AC low." Why was she arguing with him?

"Yeah, hence the blanket."

Eric decided to change the subject. "How much longer to the program's over, honey?"

"Dad…"

"It's a school night, honey." He sang, disclosing is uncomfortableness with Matt being here.

"It's nine o'clock, Dad." Julie was annoyed.

"Yeah, but I should probably get home anyway though." Matt took Coach's presence as a cue to leave.

"N-n-n-no, no. You really don't have to."

"No, I really don't like to leave my grandma home at night, so it probably better…" He trailed off. He picked up his coat and he turned to Coach. "Would you tell your wife…." He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Tami emerge from the hallway. "Goodnight Mrs. Taylor."

Eric wedged himself between Julie and Matt, not intending to move. Matt awkwardly shook Julie's hand saying that he would see her at school.

Once Matt was safely out of the house, Julie gave Eric a death stare. "Thanks!"

As she passed her mom, Tami understood Julie's aggression. "Sorry, babe." She reconciled.

Julie slammed the door to her bedroom, clearly upset with Eric. Tami looked at Eric expectantly, waiting for him to explain himself.

"They had a blanket!"

"You're an idiot."

"I'm an idiot? Don't you know what happens under blankets?"

"Are you serious?"

"Like I can't see what the blanket would be covering?" He was partially talking to Tami and partially talking to himself.

"Are you serious?" She repeated.

"Are you? With defending this?" He grabbed the blanket and held it up to her, just in case she didn't know he was upset over the blanket.

"You're so scared right now you can't even hear yourself." She paused letting that sink in. "You have an embarrassed daughter in that room, who you just mortified in front of the first boy she ever had over here! Way to go coach!"

"Please tell me you know what he was trying to do?"

"I know what it may have looked like to you. I know what it could have led to. Yes. I know." She didn't want to yell at him for his behavior. He wasn't a child. She softened her voice. "Eric, we need her to feel comfortable bring friends here. I don't want her to feel like she has to sneak out every second of the day."

He squinted his eyes, communicating he didn't fully understand. "That's not our Julie."

"Hon, she is growing up and if she takes after me, she is not going to listen to us at all. We have to give her some freedoms under this roof so she doesn't take those freedoms further in a car or under the bleachers."

"Don't say that."

"She's fifteen, Eric. She's not a baby anymore."

Eric went to bed that night and realized that Tami was probably right. Why was that? Why was she always right? He needed to loosen the reigns a bit with Julie and learn to trust Matt. Wasn't he just telling Tami that Matt was a good kid?

After practice the next day, Matt knocked on his office door. Eric on the phone, but signaled him to come in. As Eric listened to a voicemail, he held up his pointer finger nonverbally telling Matt to give him a second. As he hung up the phone, Eric couldn't keep the aggravated tone out of his voice. "What?" He was having trouble controlling his tone. He knew he needed to be a coach, be there for his players. Maybe Matt was there about something football related.

"I need to talk to you for a minute." Matt started, taking control of the conversation.

"Go ahead."

"Look, I don't want this whole thing to be awkward."

Eric swallowed hard. "You don't want what to be awkward?" No such luck! He was here about Julie.

"This whole thing between Julie and I…"

"Julie and me." He corrected. He did that often – corrected people's grammar. He felt like it gave him power, especially when he felt like he needed some power.

"Huh?"

"It's Julie and me. It's a common mistake. Go ahead." Eric said, rushing him along.

"Right. It's just…well, look, I'm kind of sensing that…I'm sensing that you have a problem with it."

"You're sensing right."

Instead of stopping right there and respecting Eric's opinion on the matter, Matt continued. This really, really pissed Eric off. "We're both interested in each other, okay? And I'm not going to stop seeing her because of you or because of anybody else."

Was this kid kidding? Where was that boy from a few weeks back that was afraid of his own shadow? Where was the boy that he took on the field to teach him to yell the plays over the loudspeaker. Where was he? This was not the same kid. That kid would have respected his words when he said that he sensed right. He was not happy about Julie dating. He was not happy that Julie was dating him. He was not happy that her name was being tossed around in the locker room. He was not happy! And now, this new confident kid says he doesn't care what he thinks. "Saracen, stop right there. If I don't want you seeing my daughter, you're not going to see my daughter."

"No, you don't understand…"

"You can go now."

No, I don't think you heard what I said."

"You can go now!" 

As Matt walked out, Eric folded his arms, more angry than ever. He called Tami, not knowing where else to turn. After the second ring, she picked up. "Hello?"

"Matt just demanded I be okay with him seeing Julie."

"Demanded?" She couldn't imagine Matt demanding anything.

"Who the hell does this kid thinks he is? I'm the father. He's supposed to respect what I say."

"Maybe you should talk to Julie?" Tami suggested.

"And say what? Hey Julie, don't date Matt. He doesn't like what I have to say?" He said sarcastically. "That'll make it worse."

"Are you done?" Tami hated when he got like this.

He knew it too. "Yeah. I'm done."

It felt like the drama never stopped. The next morning Julie came into the kitchen before school announcing that not only does she have a ride to school, but she is also going to the movies with Matt on Saturday. Did he not get his point across with Matt yesterday? Why was this kid pushing him?

As they watched Julie pull away in Landry's car, Tami knew the look she saw in Eric's eyes. He was steaming. "Tell you what I am going to do is I'm going to have a talk with that boy."

"You're going to have a talk with Matt Saracen?"

"Yeah, I'm going to have a Matt chat is what I'm going to do. I'm going to have a little Matt chat."

"Oh that sounds like a truly terrible idea." Tami pointed out, knowing how much humiliation that would cause Julie.

"Tami, that kid is pushing me. I'm going to push him right back."

"Maybe Julie initiated it." She thought it could be her daughter stirring the pot. She is her mother's daughter.

"I don't want him using her to piss me off."

"Is that what you think? Really think? Or can you possibly be upset that she has found another man in her life to look up to?"

"It's him. It's all him." He turned around and walked back into the house, formulating a plan in his head of how handle this.

Eric tried to think about the fact that Matt has no regard for the respect of elders. He has been the man of his house for years. He never has to answer to anyone. How would he know how to act to parental figures? Maybe he should take care of this more subtly.

Eric called Matt into his office before homeroom and decided distraction was his best game plan. He gave Matt a lot of game tape to watch over the weekend.

Divergence. Definitely the way to go.

"You want me to do this over the weekend?"

"That's right. Is that a problem?" He played dumb, pretending to know nothing of what Julie told him this morning.

"I kind of had plans with Julie this weekend."

"Oh. Well, I wasn't aware of that. But I do know that you are QB1 of the Dillon Panthers and this team's got a damn good chance at making the playoffs so I'm sure you'll prioritize."

"Yes sir."

Eric felt think he won that battle. He knew there would be more, but he won this one!

As the boys loaded on to the bus for their away game, he realized Smash was not on the bus. "Crawley, go in and see if you find Smash."

While he waited at the doorstep of the bus, he noticed Matt looking at the game tapes. Those game tapes were going to keep them apart. He was glad his planned worked.

When Crawley came back, Eric asked, "Where the hell is he?"

"He's in the hall. Talking to some girl."

"What girl?" Eric really didn't care, but it was very unlike Smash to be late.

"Waverly, I think."

"Ah." Eric recognized that name from the locker room. She was the one giving Smash the run around, which he certainly wasn't used to. Crawley got on the bus, but Eric felt the need to wait for him. When Smash came out to load on the bus, Eric stopped him, putting a hand to his chest. "Can't be late, Brian."

"Sorry Coach. This girl is playin' with my head. Got me spinning my wheels."

Eric smirked. "I know that feeling son."

"On the real?" Smash could never imagine Coach ever spinning his wheels.

"You've seen my wife. You think that was easy?" Eric smirked, just enough to let Smash know he was revealing something about himself.

"No. Probably not, sir."

"It wasn't. But the hard ones…" Eric said, leaning in a bit. "They're the ones. They're the ones that are the most intriguing."

Smash laughed and climbed onto the bus. Eric loved those moments he had with his boys. They didn't come often, but he knew those were the moments that would stick with them forever.

The next morning, Eric left early for golf. He rarely got to play so he took Buddy's offer to meet him at the country club. A few hours later Tami found herself alone, waiting for Eric to return so they could go to the cheerleading thing.

Julie took off earlier, heading to Matt's house to help him with some game tape.

"Wait. What?" Tami thought Eric handled this. At least that is what Eric disclosed to her late last night.

"I'm going over to Matt's. Dad apparently gave Matt a weekend assignment to keep us apart, so I am going to help him."

Tami had a million questions in her head. Eric didn't have the type of Matt-chat she thought he was going to have. "Is Matt's grandmother going to be home? I don't want you over there without an adult in the house."

"His grandmother is always there, mom." Julie started to gather her things, but said something that made Tami realize that she is growing up. "You have to trust me at some point."

Tami knew that was true. They have to trust not only in Julie but in themselves that they did a decent job at raising a good kid who made good decisions. Tami hoped she would make better decisions than she, herself made.

When Eric finally arrived, Tami told him where Julie was. "Apparently your Matt-chat didn't go as well as you expected. Oh and she wanted me to tell you to go right strong ISO when you're in the nickel package. Apparently they have a corner that's short and slow. So your daughter is now into football which is another thing you got going for ya."

"She said that?" Eric was impressed.

"Mmhm."

"She said it like that?"

"Good job, Coach."

Eric always wished that Julie would have taken an interest in football. Maybe having Matt around would have some positive effects. One being that Julie was out of the house more. "I have to take a shower. Why don't you join me?"

She laughed at his audacity. "We have to go."

She kissed him quickly trying to dismiss the ideas circling in Eric's head.

"We have the house to ourselves." He made a second attempt.

"We have to go." She said again.

"We can be a little late." A third attempt.

"We can? You? Mr. 15 minutes early everywhere?"

He came closer to her and circled her waist with a muscular arm. "You can make me late anytime you want."

She wiggled out of his grasp. "Nice try!"

When they arrived, they hadn't missed anything and Eric made sure to complain that she rushed him out of the house. "See, they always do the individual competitions first."

Tami whispered, "If you wanted time with me this morning, you should have forgone golfing."

"Don't do that." He shook his head to make a point. "Make statements after the fact. I hate when you do that."

"It's my one power." She teased.

As they took their seats, Eric spotted Julie with Matt. At least he could keep his eyes on them. He stared at his little girl leaning against his replacement. A part of him felt sick inside, but the greater part knew that Matt wasn't a bad kid. He needed to be put in his place at times, but he was just as innocent as Julie in certain ways. Now he just had to figure out a way to keep him like that.

Please Review!


	11. Nevermind

**Nevermind**

 **Season #1 – Episode #11**

 _ **Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg and written by Elizabeth Heldens. Recognizable dialogue is hers. Flashbacks in italics are mine.**_

 _ **To all the guest reviewers:**_ Thank you for taking the time to review. I do wish that I could update quicker than I do, but it seems impossible at time. I do hope that you all remain patient as I try to get each chapter out. I also love the blanket scene – it sort of gave me the uncomfortable chills which means they did a job well done.

 _ **Natbenson**_ **:** Love? That makes me smile. Thanks for the review.

 _ **Naguabo:**_ Maybe I will have to end this with a future chapter as Eric and Matt have beers discussing the hard time he gave him, huh?

 _ **ICanStopAnytime:**_ I loved that locker room scene. Quite possibly one of my favorite moments of season one. Eric will definitely self-reflect at some point on his own behavior. I agree that Eric is so much smarter than he lets everyone see. Of course Tami sees it though.

"Perfection is the order of the day, anything else is unacceptable. Understood? We leave the mistakes up to the Westcott Warriors." Eric spoke to his team during the AM practice. Each week, it's another team, another pep talk, another plan of attack.

After that the assistant coaches usually take care of the administrative crap that Eric never wants to deal with. Mac mentions some sort of team dinner that they have to attend and all the players groan. Eric wanted to groan too, but knew he had an obligation to this town. His boys had to go. They were like local celebrities and they had to make their appearances.

"Uh-Uh I don't want to hear it. You'll have your jackets. You'll have your ties. There's going to be no foul language. You're not going to make jackasses out of yourselves. Don't embarrass me. Don't embarrass the school. Understood?" He was in charge of the way these kids acted and they knew better than to disappoint him.

A part of him liked the power he had in forcing them to things like this. He got to keep an eye on them, especially when he knew how easy it was for them to run around this town recklessly.

Tami had her own power. Later that day, she had Tim Riggins seated across from her because he was failing his English class. She wasn't stupid. She knew what it meant is Tim failed. She knew what it was going to mean for her husband, but she couldn't relent. She hated that his boys got away with certain things because they were on his team.

It drove her nuts now, and back when Eric was a player, it drove her nuts then.

 _Mo was always looking for the next party. He was reckless when it came to drinking and occasionally smoking pot. Tami liked that fun side of him, but she had to admit that it sometimes got to be too much. So, it didn't surprise her that on a Wednesday night Mo convinced someone to have a party. At her locker earlier that day, Mo walked up behind her and pulls her into his arms. Party tonight, baby."_

 _Tami turns around and sees Eric standing behind Mo, with Laura hanging behind him. "I can't." Tami immediately says._

" _I haven't even told you where the party is. Hear me out before you say no."_

 _She laughed. "No."_

 _Eric smiled at her nonchalance, especially when Mo was so excited about it._

" _I bet I change your mind by the end of the day." Mo said with confidence._

 _Mo was right. Tami was there. Eric noticed her standing a few girls she seemed to be friendly with. Mo was, of course, the life of the party. He is loud and borderline obnoxious. Tami would never admit it, but she hated when he got like this. Actually she hated when he got like this and she was stone cold sober._

 _Eric sees her say her goodbyes and starts heading for the door. Eric is sober too, and stops her hand from turning the knob. "Heading out?"_

" _Yeah." She pulls her hand away from him._

" _You're just going to leave him here?" He nods his head toward Mo._

" _Believe me, he's not going to notice if I'm gone."_

 _Eric disagreed. He knew Mo would notice and behave in a way he wouldn't if she was there._

" _Why don't you stay for a little bit more? What's the rush?"_

" _I have to get home and study for American History II." She eyed him suspiciously, but then rolled her eyes. "You should be studying for it too. We take that class together. We have a big exam tomorrow."_

" _What's with the eye roll?"_

" _You're a Panther. It figures you don't have to study. Must be nice."_

" _I don't have to study because that's my easiest class. I'm just naturally good at remember historical facts. Unlike your boyfriend, I actually work for my grades."_

" _You do?" She asked, not believing him for a second._

" _Yeah. Unlike your boyfriend, I don't have the luxury of not caring about school. I don't have the rich daddy who will turn over his real estate business when I turn twenty."_

" _Must be nice." Tami makes the same dig, but this time at Mo._

" _Can I take you home? I haven't had anything to drink. I can drive you."_

" _I'm actually going to walk. I need some fresh air to wake up a bit before I hit the books."_

" _Well, I'll walk you then."_

" _I'm fine. You don't have to."_

" _Listen my father taught me to never let a girl walk home by herself. My intentions are good here." He explained._

 _As they walk, he keeps his hands in his pockets, not wanting to accidentally touch her in any way. He couldn't help but think about it though. He realizes he really doesn't know much about her. He knows she hates rally girls, never wanted to be a cheerleader and has been dating Mo what seemed like forever. He makes a brave move. "Tell me something about you that I may not know."_

" _Huh?" She is surprised by that request. It seems little personal, almost like crossing an imaginary line drawn by her relationship with Mo._

" _Come on."_

" _Last week, I tried out for the varsity volleyball and I made it." Tami figured that was a safe topic that he might find interesting. He was a jock at heart._

" _Really?" He couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice._

" _Yeah. Why are you so surprised?"_

" _I don't know." He didn't know what to say next so he made another bold move. "Does Mo know?"_

" _Not yet." She honestly didn't think he would care._

" _You better tell him because you are going to have less time for him if you play a varsity sport."_

" _I don't owe him anything Eric. I don't look at dating Mo like a job or something. There's give and take."_

" _Okay." He says, irritating her a little bit._

" _I'm serious. My life doesn't revolve around Mo."_

" _Tami Hayes is her own person." He said, a little bit surprised, a little bit turned on. Again he makes another bold statement. "I like that."_

 _They got to the top of her block and she knew she had to wrap this conversation up and she wanted the last word. "Good."_

" _Good luck with your studying tonight." He teased._

" _I don't need luck, Eric." She walked up her driveway and left him standing there, wondering a little bit more about Tami Hayes._

Tami doesn't want Tim to get away with never doing anything on his own. She can't help it and knows it is immature, but his attitude reminds her of Mo and that frustrates her to no end.

"You get help on your homework, Tim? Maybe from the rally girls?"

"No."

"Never?" Tami asks again, knowing he is lying.

"Not once!" Tim says it with a knowing smile.

Tami decides to take this conversation a different route, hopefully catching him in a lie. She decided to bring up the Scarlett Letter paper Julie wrote and how she struggled with it. "Did you write that one?"

"Oh yeah."

"You did?"

"Yup!"

"Oh. Could I see it?"

As they walked to his locker, the sound of Tami's heels romping on the floor was reflective of her anger. With each step, her aggravation of his lies grows within her. Tim opens his locker and hands her the paper.

Wow." Tami said, knowing this whole thing is a charade. "Modern themes of the Scarlett Letter. A minus. What's the Scarlett Letter about, Tim?"

"You know what it's about."

"I do know. What's the Scarlett Letter about?"

"It's about a gal, uh, named Scarlett. Obviously."

"Tim! You did not write this paper!" Tami is disappointed because this confirmation is going to cause trouble with Eric.

"What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is, it's part of my job to make sure you don't grow up stupid. It's bad for the world."

Tim couldn't help but laugh. He couldn't see the correlation of how not writing a Scarlett Letter paper makes him stupid.

"That's not funny, Tim! That is not funny! So you know what? I'm making it my personal responsibility that you don't get any more free passes from your teachers. From here on in, you are going to sink or you are going to swim – based on you. Based on your work. You get me?"

Tim starts to get nervous as he speaks. "We are two wins away from playoffs, Mrs. Taylor."

"I appreciate that."

"The timing of this couldn't be worse."

"Well, I'm sorry."

"If I don't pass, I don't play."

"Well then, we better get you to pass."

Tami walked Tim to the library to find Tim a tutor. She knew if she implemented this rule for Tim without some sort of a plan, Eric was going to kill her. She knew he would eventually see that she was right, but she knew better than to leave it up to him to help Tim educationally. Unfortunately, she was going to have to have that awkward conversation with Eric tonight.

At practice after school, Coach Crawley grabbed Eric's attention. "Coach Taylor, you see this?"

"Huh?"

"Texas Football Magazine. Top 10 high school coaches in the state of Texas. You're on this list."

"Oh, there's no livin' with him now." Mac joked.

Eric took a look at the magazine. He knew better than to react, even though he was surprised. He never showed his stripes. "You better watch what you say. It says up and coming."

Eric was taken by surprise again when during one of the water breaks Matt introduced him to his father. Eric experienced a weird mix of emotion. He was initially happy because he could see how happy Matt was that his father was home. "Coach."

"Yeah."

"This is my dad. Henry Saracen." Matt announced proudly.

Eric and Matt's father shake hands, Eric putting all the pieces together. "Pleasure to meet you. You're on leave?" Eric could see the excitement in Matt's eyes.

Then he felt jealous. He knew that Matt looked up to him as a father figure in the absence of his father. He saw how easily he could be replaced. Eric knew it was irrational. The boy did, in fact, have a father who cared enough to come and watch a practice.

"Yeah, he's home for two weeks."

"Well, that's good. You get to see son play a little bit."

"I hope so."

Eric notices that Matt is hanging on his every word, wanting so desperately to impress his father. "Well, he's done a hell of a job leading this team, I tell ya."

"Not too much trouble from him?"

Eric notices the smile on Matt's face, loving his dad is being playful at that moment so Eric plays along too. "He's a little bit of trouble. Not too much trouble."

"A little bit, huh?"

"He's been a pleasure to teach. I'll tell ya that."

"I didn't know he had it in him."

Eric saw Matt give him a deflated look telling the story that Matt's father did not really believe in him. Matt begged with his eyes to stick up for him.

"He's got plenty in him. He's been a good team leader out here. I tell ya what. You can be proud of your son."

"I hope he can keep doing okay under pressure."

Eric couldn't help but notice how upset Matt was at that last statement and suddenly Eric becomes angry. Who was this man chopping down his son without even getting the chance to know him at all?

Happy for Matt.

Jealous for no reason.

Angry at Henry.

All in the matter of a two minute conversation.

As his dad walked away, Matt knew what Eric did for him right then and there and he was grateful. "Thanks. Thanks Coach."

"Get some water." It was all Eric could muster. He didn't want to get emotionally invested in a conversation on his field. Those were reserved for his office or his home. The boys were to work, and only work, on his field.

Later that night, Tami was pulling the garbage cans to the curb as Eric pulled up the driveway. He didn't realize how late he was until he saw his beautiful wife doing his chores. It was an unspoken list of household duties they shared. She always did the laundry, he usually did the garbage, they both cooked and both cleaned up.

He hated that she was taking over his responsibilities. He hated when she did this because it made him feel like less of a man. He didn't know why. He knew she was independent, but it sometimes made him feel like she really didn't need him. Something as simple as throwing out the garbage brought all of that emotion out in him. He knew it was probably because of his father. It wasn't until he became a husband and father that all his dad's words of wisdom made any sense to him. This was one of these moments. _"Take care of her Eric. Pull your weight around the house. Let her know that there are some things she shouldn't have to do. It doesn't have to be manly things, but any household things. Let her lean on you. Give her that opportunity."_

He lightly honked the horn to get her attention and he pushed the button to lower his window. "Hey, I got you." He was referring to letting him feel needed.

"No." She said as she put her hand on the plastic handle, tugging at the final can. "I got it."

"Come on, now."

"I already dragged the other one out here."

"Come on now, let me help you." He hopped out of the car as quickly as he could, not even bothering to close his driver's side door.

"…I can drag this one out too."

"No…" He said rushing over putting his hand on the other handle, trying to take control.

"Oh you're just going to do the last three feet…"

"You're just going to complain about it…"

"…and take all the credit for it. I'm not going to give you the credit now."

"I got the trash." He said again, fight her on it.

Just at the moment, they both lost control of the can and a week's worth of garbage spilled out onto their grass.

He looked at her as he rounded the pile, smirking as he cupped her face and kissed her.

"I can't believe you just did that."

He let go of her and leaned over to start picking up the mess.

"I'll get it." He changed the subject while he worked on the task at hand. "Let me ask you something. Did you by chance make it your personal mission to take over the education of Tim Riggins?"

"I am actually. You know I found out that he's been having the rally girls do his homework for I don't know how long." She started to help him with the pick up.

"Look, that's very nice of you, but we both are aware of the no pass no play policy."

"Yeah, I'm very aware of that." She stopped picking up the garbage and placed her hands on her hips. Why would he bring that up, she thought, trying to not immediately become defensive of her actions.

"And if you would just think about this…"

She tried to stop him right there. "I know you are not going to say what I think you are going to say..."

"Just for the next couple of games until we advance to the playoffs…"

"…because you know what the answer is going to be…"

"That's all I'm saying." His hands were outstretched, almost like he was begging for her to do what he was asking. It was like all those years back when he was practically begging her to go out with him, to give him a chance.

Except they weren't teenagers anymore. They had jobs, at the same school, dealing with the same kids and there was going to be conflict.

She stopped him again. "You know what? He's been cheating honey. And I don't even want to ask you if you knew if he's been cheating, but he's been cheating and I know you don't want me to turn my back on that."

"I didn't know he's been cheating and I know how important the kid's schooling is. What I'm saying though t is for the next couple of games…."

"Do you though?" She challenged. "You think it's as important as winning. I mean really? Do you?"

"You're really asking me that question?" Now he started to get mad. Why did she always have to question his integrity?

"Yes, I'm asking. Can you answer it?"

"You really asking me that?"

"Can you answer the question?"

"No, I can't answer the question because you won't let me finish talking!"

"Well, you know why? It does not do Tim Riggins a bit of good to grow up ignorant, mean and dumb!"

"What are you talking about?" He knew this was going to happen. He knew this type of interaction was bound to happen.

Interaction.

"It's what you are encouraging with these boys."

"I'm not encouraging that. I know how important his education is."

"No. You're making him feel like what this town makes him feel ike which is that football is the most important thing. If we send that message to him, that is what he is going to believe."

"You've got to be kidding me." He knew she was right, but he would not give her the satisfaction to admit it right at that moment.

"I'm not kidding you. You know I'm not kidding you. I can't believe we are even disagreeing about this."

Eric's cell phone rings. As he picks up the phone and angrily waves a dismissive hand at Tami she continues. "I can't even believe you are asking me to do that." 

As Tami picks up the rest of the garbage, she hears Eric's one sided conversation with someone who he addressed as Coach. She is fuming right now and barely listening, but stops when she hears Eric say "Well, I can't make any commitments obviously."

When Eric hangs up the phone, she still feels a bit of anger from there battle over Tim Riggins, but can see something in Eric's eyes. It looks like a mix of shock and wonder.

"What? Who was that?"

"That was an assistant coach over at UT. They wanted to know if I had any interest in a Quarterback coach for next season."

Tami felt all the earlier stress melt away, and a smile spread across her face. "Nah-Ah?" She knew what a big deal that was. College Ball. Eric's dream.

Typical Eric doesn't show much emotion. "That's what the man said." He started walking back toward her, knowing she understood the weight of this.

"Nah-Ah? Really?" Now she couldn't keep the light laughter out of her response.

He put his hands up as if he was surrendering to her, and he couldn't keep the smile off of his face either.

"Get out of here!" She said loudly, almost screaming. You're full of it." She rushed over to him, putting her arms around him. He chuckled and she asked again. "Really?"

He knew that look in his eyes and it wasn't one she saw often. She saw that he was proud of himself. She leaned in, wrapping her arms around his neck , and kissed him. "Really?"

He hugged her back. "Yeah."

She pulled back to look into his eyes. "How did that happen?"

Eric thought back to today and what spurred the call. "There was a list that was published today. The college recruiters probably saw my name on it."

"What list?"

"In some magazine."

"Eric, stop!" She sometimes had to do this with him. She sometimes had to let him know it was okay to be excited about something he wouldn't make a big deal over. "You were in a magazine today? On a list? A list for what?"

He pulled her close to him, letting himself get excited for a second, smiling over her shoulder. "I was ranked as one of the top ten up and coming football coaches in the state."

"Are you serious?" She had a tendency to make a big deal out of things like this, but that is why he loved her. She was his biggest fan. "How can you fight with me over garbage, then over Tim Riggins, then over the parameters of my job when you were sitting on this? I'm so proud of you, honey."

She kissed him with more passion this time, lingering longer than she probably should have on their front lawn. She opened her mouth inviting him in, as their tongues dueled for a moment before he pulled back.

"Thank you." He felt the familiar stirring in his pants and decided to ask, "Is Julie home?"

She knew what that question meant, and felt herself get a bit heated to her core. "Not until 9."

His mind drifted back to the phone call. "College ball, Tami. After all these years, it's finally going to happen."

"It's happening because you worked so hard for it. Something like this doesn't just fall into your lap."

"Let me take you inside."

"Nah-Ah." She smiled. She unwrapped her arms from around his neck and grabbed his hand. "Let me to YOU inside."

He chuckled. He loved how much she understood what all this meant to him, what it meant for their family. He followed her through the front door and he closed it behind them. She turned left and into the confines of their bedroom. He eagerly followed her and he again, shut that door behind him.

She spun around and kissed him hard, his back slamming against the door he just closed. She tugged at the lapel of his blue Panthers windbreaker, urging it off his shoulders. As she tossed it to the ground he cupped her face, pushing his tongue passed her lips. Her hands moved quickly to his belt and as she unfastened it, he moaned a bit into her mouth. His tongue probed past her lips wanting to deepen the kiss. Her hands worked diligently, unfastening the button and carefully pulling down the zipper. His khakis slid down effortlessly and her hands now moved to the waistband of his boxers. She slid her finger back and forth underneath the elastic, teasing him. He moved his mouth to her neck nipping and pecking at her flesh while he groaned a low sound, wanting her to do more. As she pulled down his boxers, she herself slid down to her knees. She was eye level with his erection and as she put her lips around him, she heard the loud thump of his head being thrown backwards against the door he was leaning up against.

"What are you doing to me?" It was all he could manage to get out.

She laughed lightly. "I think you know." Her tongue came out to play a bit and in between swirls she spoke. "I want to show you how proud I am of you."

He placed his right hand on her head, trying to control how easily he was about to lose control. He loved when she did this to him. It wasn't as often as he liked, but it was enough to know how good it always felt. Tami started to move her head up and down, using one hand to touch his balls while the other moved underneath her mouth. When her tongue flicked the tip of his erection, he roughly pulled her head back. He didn't want it to end right then and there. He stepped out of his boxers and pants and knelt down across from her. He cupped her face again, staring into the blue orbs of her eyes. "I am proud of you too. This is not just about me, Tami. You have zigged and zagged in and out of jobs, PTAs, book clubs and friendships for me and my job. I am proud of you too. I know that isn't easy. So no matter what happens, let celebrate you too."

He pulled his blue Panthers polo over his head, and tossed it with his windbreaker, pants and boxers. He looked at Tami and quickly unsnapped her dark jeans and tugged them down. He pushed her backwards to lay down as he covered her with his totally naked body. His erection pushed against the dark green thong, the last obstacle in his way. He reached below between them, pulled the lacy material to the side, and plunged into her. She moaned at the pressure, feeling the rug burn at the small of her back. He held still, waiting for her to adjust around him before moving in and out of her.

"Thank you. For all that you do for this family, for my job, I love you Tami."

It didn't take long for Eric to release himself inside of her. The blowjob was almost too much prior to fucking her, so he knew this was going to happen. He knew she didn't come. He hated when that happened. It was another piece of advice his father had given him.

" _Eric, when you find someone you really care about, you are going to want to satisfy her more than want to satisfy yourself." Eric's father knew he slept around and slept around often. "I know you can't see that right now because you are 16, but one day you will. Continually make sure she is satisfied first because I can promise you that once you are, you will be done."_

"I'm sorry. I couldn't hold on." Eric said, reluctantly pulling himself off of her. 

She smiled that sweet smile he loved. "It's fine, Eric. I wanted this to be for you, but I do appreciate what you said. Thank you for acknowledging that." She tried to lighten the mood. "Orgasm or no orgasm."

He gave her a look that told her to stop because he was embarrassed. She never understood that. After all these years, after the countless times they made love, how can he embarrass so easily?

The next day Eric witnessed Tami's action going into effect. Mac questions what the hell Tim was doing in the weight room, listening to Landry read to him. As much as he loved Tami, he really resented the fact that she was always right. It always took him longer to get there and realize it, but eventually he always came around. Last night, they never finished their argument, but he knew he didn't have much of a fight on his hands.

That night Tami got ready for the team dinner their family had to attend. She liked getting out with Eric, even if it was for a football function, since he tended to be a homebody. Julie was going to the dinner with Matt and meeting them there. Eric had a late meeting so she was waiting for him when the doorbell rang. When she opened the door, Jason was sitting in his wheelchair, sweating from what looked like a rigorous workout to get there.

Jason was there to see Coach, but after Tami explained he wasn't home she invited him in for something to drink. She felt terrible that Eric wasn't home when Jason made such an effort to see him. As Tami poured him some water, she mentioned the possibility of Jason returning to school. She didn't want him to think that getting his high school degree was impossible. He was so very close to graduation.

Jason surprised her with his response. "I don't know if I'm ready to be part of the Dillon High rumor mill right now. I've got enough to handle."

Tami took a seat across from Jason at the table, and spoke softly knowing the sensitivity of this subject. "Are you talking about that thing with Lyla?"

"I'm just so confused, you know? It's just…" He struggled with what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. "I saw Lyla the other day and we just…" Then he realized who he was talking to and didn't want to seem weak in front of a man he worked years gaining his respect. "…Don't tell Coach, please?"

"No. No."

"But I, kind of, sort of tried to get back together. I want to, I just want to, you know, but I'm having such a hard time with it. It's just…It just…It's Lyla. I wish it was someone else. I wish it was someone different. I wish I could just hate her and walk away from it and be done with it because it would be so much easier. "

"A lot easier" Tami agreed.

"But I love her and we were going to get married."

"It's a hard thing. A hard, hard thing." Tami couldn't help but really think back to when she and Eric faced something similar. "But I will say…." She thought about how to word this. She waited for him to look at her so he could digest the weight of her words. "…there's no weakness in forgiveness. If that's what you decide." Looking at the hurt Jason was feeling reminded her of how Eric felt at the very beginning on their relationship. It took a lot for Eric to believe those words she just spoke.

 _After Eric witnessed Mo and Tami kissing in that diner parking lot, he didn't know what to do. The immature teenager wanted revenge, wanted to even the score. He could have taken all his anger out on Mo, but what was the point? He didn't care about Mo. He knew what Mo was – a spoiled brat who got everything he wanted. Losing Tami must have killed him and Mo trying to get Tami back seemed inevitable to Eric. Whether or not Mo knew Tami was with Eric was a moot point in Eric's eyes. If Mo wanted something, and in this case it was Tami, Mo was going to get it. He didn't expect anything less from him._

 _It was Tami. After all he sacrificed to just get a date with her and she turns around and deliberately undermines his trust. Eric spent that entire night thinking about why she would do that. After his buddies pulled him away from watching Tami and Mo reconnect, he drank himself into an oblivion. By the end of that evening, his friends convinced him that he could move on. He didn't need her. He had plenty of other girls that wanted him. Drunk Eric believed that to be true._

 _When Eric woke the next morning, his sobriety mixed with being hungover and dehydrated, only made the situation with Tami hurt that much more. She called him that day, but for some reason didn't come to the phone._

 _Tami knew that was odd. She and Eric had made a habit of speaking to each other during the day, mainly to solidify their evening plans. That night she decided to go to the local hangout and meet up with friends since it was clear Eric was blowing her off. She couldn't understand what could have happened in the matter of a day that would make him act like a total jerk._

 _As the evening unfolded, she figured it out. She saw one of Eric's buddies from the team and as nonchalantly as possible asked where Eric was._

" _He's home. He didn't feel like coming out tonight." That was all Steve had to offer._

" _Oh. Okay." Tami wanted more, but didn't know how to get the information she needed. "Is he sick?"_

 _Steve laughed. "Probably hungover."_

" _Ah." Tami thought for a split second, maybe that was all it was. He was so hungover he just needed some space. "What'd you guys do last night?"_

 _Steve realized that she had no clue what Eric witnessed and wasn't afraid to let her know how mad Eric was. "We went to the field. Eric got wasted. Scotch." He said simply._

" _Oh. Okay." As Tami was about to walk away, she heard Steve say something that put a sinking knot in her stomach._

" _You really did a number on him."_

 _Tami spun around and gave him a curious look._

" _He saw you last night with Mo. We all did."_

" _What?" Tami was shocked. "What did he see exactly?"_

" _He saw Mo kiss you. He saw you kiss him back."_

 _When Tami quickly replayed the events of last night in her head, she tried to remember how it all happened._

" _We left, but he assumed the rest."_

" _Assumed what?"_

" _Everyone knows your history, Tami. And everyone knows Mo always gets what he wants."_

" _That's bullshit." Tami hated that Eric thought she betrayed him. "He didn't see how it all unfolded."_

" _Do you blame him?"_

" _He needs the whole story. I…" Tami was about to defend the situation, but Steve stopped her._

" _You're telling the wrong person. But the person you should be telling is not going to be easy to convince."_

 _Tami went home, upset by this revelation. Her mind was clouded with how to handle it. She wanted to go over to Eric's right now and explain herself. She wanted to yell at him for not having any faith in her, in them. She wanted to let him know that he can trust her. She also knew that sometimes people need time to cool down so she thought it best to wait until the morning._

 _Morning came and the more Tami dwelled on the situation, the madder she became. How could he not see the whole picture? How could the last few months be erased on a misunderstanding? How could he not see that there had to be an explanation? How could he just jump to conclusions?_

 _Now it was her turn. She was the one who needed to cool down. Their unspoken words to each other over the past two days spoke volumes between them. They have not gone that long without talking since the day he agreed to prove he could wait for her and not see anyone else._

 _The next day, she saw him at the community pool. He was by himself, sitting on a towel. She noticed the girls in the water looking at him and decided to take matters into her own hands. She walked over to where he was, and tried to start a conversation. "Hey."_

 _He started to get up when he noticed her walking over to him. He didn't want to have this conversation with her while everyone could watch their entire relationship unfold and likely crumble into pieces. "I can't talk to you right now."_

" _Well, I want to talk to you." She said, keeping her voice down not wanting to make a scene._

" _Ah-ah. Not this time Tami. You're not getting your way this time." With that, he threw his towel over his shoulder and walked away from her._

 _Tami wanted to follow him, but knew this was neither the time nor the place. She could tell Eric was hurt and neither of them needed a dramatic display of their first and hopefully not their last fight._

 _She stayed at the pool a little while longer not wanting to draw any more attention to herself. She knew Eric must have went home or to work out, but she wasn't going to chase him. Later that night, after dinner and before she turned in for bed, she heard a light knock on her front door. Tami's mother was already in bed, which left Tami to answer it._

 _When she opened the door, she saw Eric standing on the porch, the light shining on his face. She could see the sheer anger in his eyes. He walked down the two steps and toward the driveway and as he expected, Tami shut the door lightly and followed him. She watched his quick, determined steps wondering how far he was going to walk._

 _Then he spun around. He had his hands on his hips and his eyes were as wide as she ever seen them. His bottom lip was pressed tight against his top one._

" _How can you humiliate me like that?" He was staring daggers into her soul._

" _Like what?" She now knew he didn't know the whole story._

" _You know what! All this time it was about you trusting me and you're running around behind my back with Mo."_

" _I'm not running around…." She tried to explain, but he didn't want to hear it._

" _You made a fool of me. You didn't want to tell anyone about us for two months in fear that you would be judged. That people would be laughing at you as the fool. And this whole time, I was being played. I was the fool."_

" _That's not true. None of what you are saying is true." She raised her voice a bit to get her point across._

" _So what? My eyes deceived me?" He asked incredulously. "You and Mo didn't kiss in a parking lot with me watching from right across the street?"_

" _Eric, please…."_

" _You know what Tami? Shame on me! Shame on me for believing in you."_

" _That's it? This is going to end just like that?" She snapped her fingers to demonstrate how quickly he was willing to throw what they had between them away._

" _Let's be honest Tami, we are not ending something too deep. We haven't even had sex yet."_

" _So what?" She yelled. "Sex measures my feelings? Is that what you think?"_

" _Clearly it does. You had sex with Mo and look at you. You fall right back into his arms the second my back is turned." He turned away from her and started to walk toward his car. He spun back around, the distance a little greater. "I guess what you have with him will never measure up to what we have because you refuse to let me…."_

" _Fuck you!" She seethed. "How dare you?" She was pissed. She was exhausted. If that is how he felt, why bother explaining it._

 _Eric was on a roll and wasn't planning n stopping. "And the worst part is, if I didn't see it with my own eyes, would you have ever really told me?"_

 _Tami took a few steps closer to him as she thought about how to answer him. "Honestly? Probably not." She said quietly. She never told him about all the other times Mo tried to get her back. She didn't see the point, but now seeing Eric like this, he deserved to know._

" _Well, at least you have the capability to tell the truth."_

" _You know I have a right to be mad here too, Eric. You won't even give me the chance to explain. Yes, Mo kissed me. He said things that made me feel sorry for the relationship we no longer have – a relationship you really don't know too much about." Eric was listening and she needed to get everything out before he got in that car and drove away from her forever. "You must have left before you saw how that kiss ended. Let me give you a recap. I told him I could never trust him. We could never go back to what we were. I told him he could never kiss me like that again." She chuckled about what she was about to say next. "I told him you have never given me a reason not to trust you." Tami kept going. "But the truth is it was, you who never really trusted me."_

" _That's not true" He dismissed. "I trusted the fact that you would never let that happen."_

" _I'm sorry that it happened. I'm sorry that you are hurt. And while we are being honest, this is not the first time Mo has tried something like that. It wasn't until the other night that he knew about you and still tried. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but you can't go around blaming me for every little thing that goes wrong. You can't base the seriousness of our relationship on the amount of sex or lack thereof as a meter."_

" _I didn't mean that." He said._

" _You have a choice here Eric. You can forgive me that I let something like that happen although I feel like I handled it the best way I could have in that moment or you can walk away from us."_

 _Tami could tell he was struggling to let it go and knew there was only one thing in his way._

 _Pride._

" _Eric, there's no weakness in forgiveness. But you have to trust me too. We have to trust each other if this is going to work – especially that in a month we will be living in two different cities and two different colleges."_

" _Okay." He simply said._

" _Okay?"_

" _I don't know what else to say. So I'm saying okay."_

" _I'm sorry."_

" _Okay."_

Jason left and eventually Eric came home. He rushed to shower and put on a suit so they can get to this dinner on time. As his tie dangled around his neck, he walked toward the kitchen.

"I'm ready. Sorry."

"Hey. Hey." She tried to stop him before he turned toward the front door to get his shoes.

He stopped in his tracks as he felt her walking behind him. "Yeah?"

She pulled at the tie.

"I'm going knot it in the car."

"She pulled him in for a kiss. "You look good in a suit."

"You always say that."

"That because you always do." She wanted to get out what's on her mind. "You trust me, right? Mean fully trust me? Because I love you and sometimes I don't say it enough."

"Hey, where's all this coming from?" This was strange behavior for Tami, a woman who rarely needed reassurance.

"It's just something I was thinking about today and I want to make sure you know how much I love you."

"Is this the part where you want me to say you're right? You were right and I was wrong?"

"Huh?"

"About Tim and the cheating?"

"This has nothing to do with that."

"Oh. Okay. Good. Come on, let's go. We're going to be late."

Friday night, the Panthers played the Westcott Warriors. Eric is utterly disappointed in Matt's performance and knows it's because his Dad is there. Not only is he there, but he's practically on the field and not in the stands with the rest of the spectators. Chance after chance, Matt just can't seem to get it right and Eric has no choice but to pull him out of the game. "Step out. It's not your night son." He never saw Matt so distracted. He'd have to deal with that after that clock counted out. Thankfully, Smash brought the Panthers to victory.

After the coach's meeting, Eric walked out of the locker room to handshakes and slaps on the back. Then Eric sees Matt arguing with his father. He stays put watching it unfold. The next thing that registers in Eric's head is how disrespectful Matt is being right now. He hears Matt say "Go to hell, Dad." No boy should speak to his father that way. Eric didn't know the situation and he listened intently as he saw Tami and Julie watching as well.

"You know I thought you were going to come home from Iraq and actually be able to help, but you've only made things worse. You know, actually? Why don't you just go back to Iraq because things worked out a lot better when you were there."

Eric knew better than to step in. Matt was out of line. His dad was in the Army, serving his country. He should have some respect for that.

"Really? You calling me all the time? Help me. Grandma can't do anything right. I don't know what to do."

"I'm sorry, but it's hard to pay the rent and go to school and take care of grandma…" Eric realized Matt really did not have it easy and continued to look on.

"Try being me for five minutes."

"Try being you?" Matt asked. "What have you done?"

"You think I want to come home to this? Now get in the truck!"

"I'm not getting in the truck. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Tami stepped in and told Matt to come home with them. Eric silently watched Tami take control of the situation, knowing when he got home, he was going to have to talk to Matt – not as a coach, not as his girlfriend's father, but as fatherly friend.

When Eric got home, he saw Matt sitting at the kitchen island with Tami and Julie. "Come on son, let's go outside and talk."

Matt followed Eric outside and took a seat in one of the chairs, while Eric stood over him. "Tell me what's going on."

Matt told him the whole story about how hard it's been with his dad home, how he wants to put his Grandma in a home. This means he won't have a legal guardian and he is supposed to move to Oklahoma."

Eric offers to talk to his father, but Matt doesn't think that will help. "Listen, we are all family here. I will do anything I can for you. You know that." Eric wanted to let him know he had him to look to for help, for advice, for guidance.

Matt tried holding back the tears not wanting to break down in front of Coach. "I hate him. I hate my dad."

"Hey. Don't do that." Eric knows that statement too well. He spent years feeling like that toward his own father. He wished someone set him straight to help him realize that his father really only wanted to best for him. "Don't make that mistake. You think about what you just said. You get ready. Go, come inside and I'll take you home."

Eric didn't know why he was so upset. If he was Matt he would hate him his father too. But he wasn't Matt. He was a father himself and he hoped Julie would never feel that way about him.

-Please Review!


	12. What To Do While You're Waiting

**What To Do While You're Waiting**

 **Season #1 – Episode #11**

 _ **Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg and written by Kerry Ehrin, who also wrote Episode #4 – "Who's Your Daddy". Recognizable dialogue is hers. Italics are my flashbacks.**_

 _ **To all the Guest Reviewers:**_ Thank you for your kind words. I love the feedback. The length is something that always gets away from me. I always want to update faster, but the length always makes that impossible.

 _ **Naguabo:**_ I agree. I think the way Eric speaks to Matt at the end, offering to help him in any way was interesting since they were just getting to know each other. Plus, the love/hate he feels toward him because of his situation with Julie.

 _ **Natbenson:**_ Thanks for the review.

 _ **ICanStopAnytime:**_ I consistently see self-doubt in Eric Taylor. Through all his assertiveness, I do think he consistently questions every single action he takes. I'm glad you liked that part – to have him actually be proud of himself. He is such a humble character at times. Also, I wanted to give Tami some sort of background from that powerful line she spoke in this episode. Thanks as always for the feedback.

Eric was stressed. His whole first season as a head coach was going to come down to one game. One game that he had no control over. Buckley was going to play Arnett Meade and the outcome of that game was going to determine if he was going to take his team to the playoffs.

Eric hated that he let it get this close. If he did what he was supposed to do, and coached the way he should have coached these last few months, he would never have been in this predicament. He analyzed the whole season. The first loss with Matt playing quarterback was almost expected. The second loss because of the whole VooDoo situation didn't help matters. If he only knew then, that getting in that car with Buddy Garrity would put him in this situation today, he would have never done it. Hell, he didn't want to do it without the playoffs on the line.

But here he was, driving in his car listening to Sammy Meade analyze what was going to happen. Buckley had to beat Arnette Meade so the Panthers go could go to the playoffs. Eric was determined to be ready either way.

"We are not going to sit on our asses and wait to see if Buckley is going to beat Arnette Meade this Friday or not gentleman. We are going to stay focused and we are going to stay working. Some things you can control and some things you cannot. Time you cannot control. Time is our enemy. I do not want y'all drivin' yourselves crazy this week. What happens, happens! Ain't no spell or no bag of juju gonna change that. So what we're gonna do is we're gonna stay out here and work our asses off. If the good Lord and/or the Buckley defense decided we should get one more shot at this thing, well by-God we are going to be ready for it."

Eric would never admit it, but he loved talking to his boys like this. In the months leading up to Eric's draft into the NFL, when they dared to dream, Eric used to tell Tami that in his retirement he wanted to be a motivational speaker.

 _They were embarking on their senior year, and agents were starting to already contacting Eric. Their future looked set and at times, it seemed that nothing could get in their way. It was the weekend before classes started and Tami was visiting College Station. They had been apart for two weeks, which didn't seem like much, but after an entire summer together, it seemed like an eternity._

 _They were lying in bed, in Eric's off-campus apartment that he shared with a few of his teammates. They just finished making desperate love, which bordered, sloppy. It was Thursday night and they had nowhere to be, but in the safety of each other's embrace. He stared at the ceiling, while rhythmically brushing Tami's long strawberry blonde locks with his fingertips. She lay next to him, with his bed sheet pulled up over her breasts, resting her arm across his bared torso._

" _What are you think about?" She asked breaking the silence._

" _About classes and how I don't want them to start."_

" _One more year, babe."_

" _Yeah, one more year." He thought about how to word what else was on his mind. "One more year and then our lives are going to get so much easier."_

" _Eric…." Tami dared to stop him. She hated talking about the future when Eric tended to dream. She felt like they were jinxing themselves when they got carried away. They had tealed about this a few months back and Eric had not brought it up since. But Tami knew where he was going with a statement like that._

" _Think about it, Tami. Right now, we are both taking a full class load, you are working part time job, I am playing football…"_

" _It's not that hard, Eric."_

" _But it's going to get so much easier. We will have our degrees, we will have cars that will have more than a fifty percent chance of starting, we will have money in the bank, we can buy a house, you won't have to work..."_

 _She stopped him right there. "I want to work Eric. I worked hard for my degree. I don't have any urge not to put it to use."_

" _Ok." He didn't want to argue with her. He didn't want to tell her they would be starting all over, in a city that was likely not going to be anywhere near Texas. "Well, then, you can go to graduate school if you want. I know you talked about that."_

 _Tami would be lying if she said that wasn't a dream of hers. She loved school and knew that with a graduate degree, that would open so many more doors to her future._

" _Or I can knock you up as soon as I sign a contract and you can stay home and raise our child."_

 _Tami gripped the top of the sheet sat up abruptly. "As soon as you sign a contract?" She asked hoping he wasn't serious. "Is that what you are expecting?"_

 _Eric sat up too. "We talked about having kids one day, Tami. Has that changed? Do you not want to have kids?"_

 _Tami thought about how beautiful their children would be. How handsome and determined their son would be or how beautiful and independent a daughter would be. She smiled, ever so slightly at that thought, but her mind drifted back to Eric's crazy suggestion. "I want to have kids someday, and I hope they are with you. You know that's a dream of mine. I just never thought about those dreams becoming a reality next year." She wanted to tell him she had much higher expectations for herself, for the two of them together, over the next couple of years._

" _Well, how do you see the next couple of years going?" He tentatively asked._

" _You know how nervous I get having this conversation."_

" _Why?" He said, easing back into a lying down position, pulling her with him. "It's a really strong possibility that we are going to be living very differently in a year or two."_

" _I don't want to jinx what you have worked so hard for."_

 _He smiled, loving her for understanding his dreams. "What do you want for Tami over the next couple of years?"_

 _She thought about it for moment, wanting to word it perfectly for him. It wasn't often they exposed themselves this deeply, talking about the future with no real commitment to insure her words. "I would love to go to graduate school, but I'm eager to get into the workforce. I want to counsel, maybe one day privately." She thought about what to say next without saying too much. "My dreams can line up with whatever city you end up in. I want to be a mother someday too Eric, but I'm not sure I want to be a stay-at-home mother. I'm sorry if that disappoints you."_

" _You can never disappoint me." He said, continuing to move his one hand through her hair, comforting her so the words flowed easier for her._

" _I like to keep busy, Eric. I want…"_

 _He interrupted her with his words and his sexy smile. "I can keep you plenty busy. I have a lot of needs."_

 _She laughed, but turned the conversation back to a more serious tone. "Well, what do you see? After the NFL?" She didn't dare say "if you make it", because that would hurt him beyond belief._

" _Well, if I do really well, and my name is out there and recognizable, it will be easy to achieve. "_

 _She rolled her body to one side, placing a leg between his and draping her arm across his torso. "Yeah? What's that?"_

" _I feel like I could give motivational speeches. I always did well in public speaking. I can break things down and figure how to troubleshoot problems to the root. I feel like I am good at building up." He thought for a moment about that lifestyle. "That will be even easier than playing in the NFL."_

The playoffs!

He felt so close. He just needed to keep his own focus and his own concentration on beating Buckley if they got that opportunity.

On the drive home early in the evening, Eric could not stop analyzing it in his head. He was talking out loud about every scenario. It's what he did. It's what made him great. Tami sat in the passenger seat, listening to him babble on and on about it, until she saw the stress lines and creases of his skin forming on his forehead. This could be good for him.

"Honey!" Tami interrupted him. He was driving her crazy. "Will you just think about something else? Let's talk about anything…."

"What do you want me to think about?" He snapped back.

"There are things going on in the world. You can think about little children…"

"Oh my heavens…."

"..in India."

"You know what? There is nothing else to think about." He pulled into their driveway, turned off the ignition and opened his door. "Nothing else to think about."

"You can think about how much you love me." She said as she opened the passenger side door and got out as well. "That's a good idea. Why don't you think about that?" She knew when Eric was like this, her best sexual charms could not sway him from thoughts. Of course, she would try later for both their sanity.

Eric walked toward the house, rubbing his eyes when he heard a man's voice behind him. "Coach Eric Taylor?"

"Yeah?" Eric said, looking at Tami and then at the man holding out an envelope. Eric walked toward him to see what it was. "What's this?"

"You've been served."

Eric took a look at what seemed to be some sort of legal document. "Served by who?"

Tami was right by Eric side, trying to determine what was going on. She looked back and forth between the man and the envelope.

"Jason Street's family."

"What?" Tami said, not keeping the surprise out of her voice. The look on Eric's face mirrored her voice.

She felt glued to that spot in their driveway, shock paralyzing the both of them. Tami put a hand on Eric's back, and ushered him into the house. He could barely make it there on his own. Eric started opening the envelope as he walked toward the chairs at the kitchen counter. Tami placed herself across from him so she can determine what the hell was going on.

The Street family? The family that at one time was part of their own? The family that hired Eric privately to train their son? The family that shared multiple meals with Tami and Julie as well as some holidays together? That family was serving him papers? That Street Family?

"Eric…" She broke the silence.

He looked up at her, shock and confusion brewing in his eyes. He didn't know what to think, other than that maybe he deserved this.

"Don't even think it." She said softly.

Eric started shaking his head slowly back and forth, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Nobody believed in that boy more than you." She wasn't even sure he was listening to her. "No one wanted that boy to succeed more than you."

"I did. He had the potential to be an NFL quarterback. I would have gotten him there. I should have gotten him there."

"What happened was not your fault. You did not tell him to try to make that tackle. You are not the reason he is in that wheelchair."

His fingertips loosened the grip he had on the papers and they fell to the countertop. He reached for his keys, not even hearing Tami's voice.

"Eric?"

"I'm going for a drive."

"Eric…"

"I just need some time to clear my head."

Tami watched him turn his back to her and head out the front door. She knew Eric and the worst thing she could have done at that moment is follow him. He needed his space. He needed time. She just worried where that car was going to take him and if that car was going to take him home.

She was already in bed when he came back through the door. Her eyes followed him as he entered their bedroom, watching him take a seat on the edge of their bed to remove his shoes. "I'm sorry. I just needed to take a moment."

"You okay?"

"Mmhmm."

She didn't say anything else at that moment. She wanted him to open up to her. After he changed and climbed into bed next to her, they both stared blankly at the ceiling searching for answers. How were they going to sleep tonight?

"I can't believe they would sue us." Tami started. "You raised Jason Street. You raised him on that football field. How could they possibly blame you for what happened?"

Eric had the same questions, but a long drive helped him come to this conclusion. "It's one of those things. You can't make it personal." Eric said rubbing his face. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. "They were probably advised to do it by lawyers. It's what people do. That's what they do. We're covered by the school. It's not personal. You just got to look at it that way. "

"Hmm." Tami wasn't convinced, but she placed a reassuring hand on his chest.

"It's just what people do." He repeated. He just never thought people would do that to him.

Eric tried to shift his focus back to football. At practice the next day, he explained to his boys that although the determining game was tonight, they as a team had to be somewhere else. He knew they weren't going to be happy about it. Hell, he wasn't happy about it.

"The annual booster league fundraiser rodeo and fair." He told them. That was where they had to go.

"Ugh." They all groaned in unison.

"Shut up!" Eric didn't need them crying like a bunch of babies. "Shut up! I know y'all rather be sweating out game night by yourselves instead of being at the rodeo. So would I. But you know what? These women work hard. It's a good cause. So we're all gonna show our asses there with smiles on our faces."

It really was the last thing Eric wanted to do, but he had to set an example. That was the main part of his job.

After practice, Eric's mind got the best of him and decided like anything else in his life, he was going to take action. He found himself driving over to the pharmacy where Mitch Street worked. When something plagued him, Eric was not the type of man to dwell on it. He always took action. He never let it stew. Sometimes it worked in his favor and sometimes it only got him in more trouble.

 _Eric couldn't let go it go. Mo was supposed to be his friend and his teammate. The later, a bond that should carry with them forever. So when Tami told him Mo continually tried to get her back, he couldn't let it go. He knew he should. He knew he was better than Mo. He knew he won in the way of Tami Hayes. But Mo kept trying and trying after he knew Tami was with him. He told Tami he wanted to know every time Mo made his attempts, but he was starting to rethink that request._

 _Tami was honest. All it took was that one argument at her house for her to understand Eric's need for the constant truth. She was done hiding things from Eric. There was one advantage of Eric's full disclosure policy. He was learning to trust Tami and they were growing closer and closer together._

 _He didn't know what came over him, but he felt the sudden need to take action. Mo was staying at a hotel in College Station. He was playing for Oklahoma State the next day against Eric and the Aggies. A few weeks prior to Mo's arrival, Tami told Eric of one of Mo's latest attempts. He invited her to Oklahoma for a friendly visit. Tami didn't want to tell Eric, knowing he would be pissed, but knew honesty and trust went hand in hand._

" _Why the hell is he inviting you there for?"_

" _I think you and I both know why."_

" _That guy can't take the hint. We have been together for months, Tami. Is he ever going to stop?"_

 _Tami looked at him sympathetically, but she could see the anger rising within him. "It doesn't matter. Look at me." She said cupping his face. "It doesn't matter."_

" _It does matter!" He raised his voice. "It's manipulative and disrespectful."_

" _It doesn't matter to me." She said softly._

" _I want to kill him. If he was here right now, I would love to put my fist down his throat to shut him the hell up."_

" _Save it for the field. He's not worth getting in any trouble."_

 _But Eric couldn't let it go. He couldn't save it for the field. He found himself in front of Mo's hotel door, not knowing if he was going to be able to control his temper. He knocked just once, placed his hands on his hips and waited. Mo swung the door open, greeting Eric with a cocky smile. "QB1, what do I owe the pleasure?"_

 _Eric walked away from him, not wanting to have this conversation in front of Mo's teammates. Mo followed him down the hallway, the heavy hotel door shutting behind him. Eric stopped walking and spun around, his hands still on his hips. "Stop it with Tami!"_

" _Stop what?" Mo said with a sleazy smile._

" _You know what! I know about all of it. I know about all your little requests. I know about all your invitations. Stop it! Take a hint and leave her alone."_

" _If she wanted me to leave her alone, she would have told me that herself."_

 _Eric was taken aback by that comment. Was Tami flirting back and using Eric as an excuse more than a reason?_

 _Mo was always a talker and Eric's silence gave him a little boost. "Don't you know Tami at all? She likes the attention, man. Always did. You must not be giving her what she needs."_

" _Shut the hell up, Mo."_

 _But he kept going. "Knowing Tami and the parts of her that need my attention was never a problem for us." He said with a wink. Mo knew he was getting to him._

 _He could feel his eyes burning with anger as they widened and his jaw actually hurt from clenching it so tight. "Shut the fuck up, Mo." He seethed._

" _She still like it on top, Eric?" Mo chuckled, knowing his nonchalance would aggravate Eric even more. "I tell ya, that girl gave the best blow job I've ever had."_

 _Eric balled his hand into a fist and took a step forward, but Mo took a step back. He put his hands up defensively. "The truth hurt, Eric? I'll always be the one that had her first."_

 _Eric took another step toward him._

" _Be careful, Eric. You get caught fighting, you won't play tomorrow."_

 _Eric knew he was right. He came to Mo. He instigated this meeting. He knew what it would mean for his future if he got suspended. He stretched out his fingers, thought about his next play and cracked a smile. "Maybe Mo. But I'll be her last." It took a lot of self-discipline, but he turned around and walked away from making a mistake that would have cost him more than his ego._

When Eric walked inside the pharmacy, he saw Mitch behind the counter. The second Mitch saw Eric coming in the store, Eric could see the fear in Mitch's eyes. Eric knew, right at that moment, that Mitch felt terrible for what he did.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Eric started.

"Eric, man. I'm so sorry."

"Look, I don't know who it was behind this. I know it's not you." How could it be Mitch? The man that asked Eric to put in the time with his son when he couldn't.

"I just didn't know what else to do." Mitch cowardly said.

"I understand. Listen, when I got served papers, I said I know this isn't coming from Mitch and Joanne. I know it's not."

"Expenses are astronomical, Coach."

"Look, I understand that you probably realize too that it's probably not a good idea to get yourself involved in this. That this is going to cause you that much more additional pain." Eric was going to say anything for them to drop this whole thing. "You know it's going to get you nowhere." Even, if he wasn't sure he one-hundred percent believed it.

"I'm not so sure that's the case." He snapped back.

"Hell, Mitch. What are you going to do? You're going to sue the school? What are you going to prove? That the school was negligent? And how the hell are you going to do that? I was there. You were there. Everyone was there." Eric kept his voice low, but this conversation was too much for Mitch to take.

"I can't talk to you about this."

"This was nobody's fault." Eric felt himself pleading with him.

"I cannot talk to YOU about this. You think this is tough for you? You go and try and lose your child's legs and losing your child's future and every penny you ever saved? Try that on for size. Then after that, try and find out where the hell you are going to come up with money to put up ramps and doorways all over your house…"

Eric wasn't listening anymore. He couldn't. He knew at that moment he made a mistake by coming here. There was no convincing Mitch and the relationship he had with Jason was going to be lost forever.

He went home and told Tami what happened. He was feeling so many different emotions.

"Why would you go there? What did you think you would accomplish?" Tami asked, feeling a bit of shock toward Eric and his actions.

"I thought I could change his mind. I thought if I explained it from my end…"

"Our end." She interrupted. "This is our problem Eric, not yours to bear alone."

"I thought if he could see it from OUR perspective…"

"Babe, you have to let the school handle this. We are not going to be able to fix this by ourselves." Tami was a bit irritated that he would go there without talking to her about it first. She knew what drove this mentality and it was frustration, anger and fear. "You think you are going to be able to fix this with sense and reason?"

"I don't know what the hell I thought I was going to accomplish."

"You can't go there again, Eric." She didn't want to lecture him, but he needed to understand the repercussion of what another visit would do. "You need to back away and stand on the sideline and let this play out on its own. Okay?"

He thought about what that actually meant. That meant no talking to Jason about it, no talking to the coaches about it and certainly not talking to Mitch and Joanne about it. "Okay." He finally answered.

Later that evening, Eric was in his recliner watching game tape as Tami sipped wine while reviewing a file from work. As of late, this had become their nightly ritual. Julie came through the front door, but Tami and Eric were so submerged in their work, they didn't notice the solemn look on Julie's face.

She surprised the both of them by the words that came out of her mouth. "I love you guys."

Eric was a bit surprised by this and turned his head away from his game tape to look at her. Tami couldn't keep the look of shock off her face. Julie continued, wanting to get it all out. "And you guys are the best parent's in the world. Good night."

As Julie retreated to her bedroom, Tami turned her shocked expression to Eric, who is smiling proudly back at her. "No, honey. Something terrible must have happened." Tami said, getting up and running after her. "Julie!" She called.

Eric reluctantly got up to meet Tami at Julie's bedroom door. "Come in the kitchen sweetheart. Let's talk about it." Tami wasn't sure if those words would work, but she didn't know else to approach her. Eric stayed quiet, completely trusting Tami to handle it.

Julie took Tami's lead and followed her to the kitchen island. She explained to them that Matt stood her up at the library and that when she showed up at his house, he was completely overwhelmed. "There's no adult looking out for him. I mean it's crazy. He is just by himself, doing the cooking and the cleaning, the shopping. He takes care of his grandma. Hs dad has been home for two weeks and there is still a table full of insurance forms for his grandma."

Eric gave Tami a ' _I told you so'_ look. His daughter shouldn't be worried about helping her boyfriend take care of adult household matters. They purposely don't give her too much in their own household so she could get good grades and just be a kid. This is not what Eric wanted for his daughter.

Julie continued. "And he has school and work and football. I just…I feel like it's just gonna crush him."

Eric decided to speak, hoping to ease Julie's worries. "Nothing is going to crush Matt Saracen. He's like a little stink bug. Nothing is going to crush him. He's tough. He'll be fine." Eric did believe that to be true. Matt was a strong 16 year old kid, probably more mature than most kids his age. But he did not want Julie worrying like this about him. She was too young to be worrying like this.

"Well, I do think it is an awful lot for one sixteen year old to have to handle." Tami said taking Julie side. Her statement peeved him a bit. Why was she going against him? "I might be able to do something. I don't know. Have him see me at school."

"Okay. Thanks mom." Julie said, getting up and kissing her mom.

"Goodnight." Tami said as Eric just watched on.

"You're the best." Julie threw it in there, as a thank you to Tami.

"What do you mean _'she's the best'?_ What about me?" Eric called after her, when he got no thank you and no kiss for that matter. "Hey!"

After school the following day, Tami decided she was going to cook some meals for Matt. It seemed like one less thing Matt would have to do in the evenings for his family. She figured this was a good way to help without being pushy. She was at the stove, stirring the vegetables into the casserole when she heard Eric come through the front door.

Wordlessly, he approached her from behind, wrapping both his arms around her. Tami initially jumped at his touch, but immediately relaxed into his embrace.

"What are you doing?" He lightly brushed his lips against her ear.

"Making something for Matt and his family. It's the least I can do for that kid."

Eric held his embrace, his hands sliding down her arms to her hands. "Where's Jules?" He gently pulled the serving spoon out of her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

"She's at dance but she'll be home soon. She's going to the rodeo with Matt and we're going to meet her there."

Eric thought about yesterday and how Tami handled Julie. Eric could easily admit how clueless he was sometimes, especially in comparison to his wife. "You know what? You're good with her. You're a good mom."

"Thanks." She simply replied.

"No. Tami, I mean it." He loosened his embrace and lightly rubbed her shoulders. "You are smart, sensitive and beautiful. It's where Julie gets it from."

She was a little surprised by his words, but loved how expressive he could be at the oddest of times. She spun around in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

"You're a wonderful mother, Tami. Julie is lucky to have you."

She leaned in and kissed him, feeling the heat generate from her core. He cupped her face, deepening the kiss. She opened her mouth and let his tongue search for hers. She broke the kiss wondering how far they could possibly take this. "How about wife? Am I a good Wife?"

He smiled that sexy smile she loved. He had a gorgeous smile. "You are an amazing wife." He kissed her again, spinning her around so now her back was up against the kitchen island. When her back made contact with the surface of the counter, his hardened groin made contact with her most intimate of areas. He moved his lips to her jawline, her neck and descended to her chest. "You are my hot, sexy, sexy wife."

She laughed, curling her fingers through the full head of hair she loved that he still had. She felt his hands move to where his lips were and she couldn't help but arch her back wanting more, but knowing it wasn't really possible. "Julie is going to be home any second." She said in between kisses.

Eric pretended like he didn't hear her and slipped his hand underneath her shirt. As he circled her nipple with his thumb, a moan escaped from her and he smiled through his kisses, loving he knew exactly what turned her on.

She grabbed the buckle of the belt and tugged at it. "We don't have time for this."

"Let's make time for this." Between the pending game and the lawsuit, Eric needed release and he needed to get that release from her.

He moved his hands away from her breast and squeezed her ass. She couldn't help but push her groin into his, wanting to feel him beneath her. "We have to go to the rodeo." Her words were saying one thing but her actions were saying another.

She undid his buckle and snapped open the button on his khakis. She slipped a hand into his boxers and grabbed him. "Oh God, Tami. You feel so good."

She only moved her hand once up and down when they heard the click of the front door. Tami pushed Eric off of her and he turned away from the hallway. He didn't want his daughter to see him like this. He needed a moment.

Tami watched as Julie just walked right by them, saying a quick "Hey" and not breaking her stride toward her bedroom. When Tami turned back to Eric, he had both his hands on the flat surface of the counter, trying to regain control over his breathing. "We could have kept going, babe. She didn't even acknowledge the two of us in here right now."

"We have to go to the rodeo." She said again.

When they arrived at the rodeo about an hour later, Eric parked the car but didn't get out right away. He put both hands on the steering wheel, resting his forehead on the back of his hand. As he hugged the steering wheel, he spoke to Tami, who was in the passenger seat. "I'm getting gray hair over this Arnette Meade game."

Tami affectionately put her hand on his head, combing her fingers through that thick head of hair.

"Getting gray hair over this lawsuit. I'm getting a lot of gray hair this week." She continued to lightly stroke the back of his head, offering some sense of comfort to him. "And I tell you if this job gets cut out from under me, there ain't going to be no more coaching…"

"That's not going to happen." She reassured him.

"No, that is what will happen."

"Don't forget how good you are at what you do."

"That's the problem. It's not up to me. And your little stunt before isn't helping." He couldn't remember the last time he was this tense.

"My little stunt? You started it."

When Eric continued to be silent, she could tell he was not in the mood for jokes. Tami thought about what to say next, the silence and the tension building. She tried to piece together the unsaid truth that they really don't have any control over anything – over this upcoming game, over the way the boosters will react, over his contract for next year. But before she gets anything out, he interrupts her. "I know. We got to go to the rodeo."

"I'm sorry. I know." She put on her cowboy hat and pulled at his jacket before he slipped out of the car. "I think you are going to look so damn sexy with gray hair."

"Yeah? He says surprised.

"Yeah." She reassured him and leaned to kiss him.

He returned her kiss, knowing he couldn't get too carried away. They are in their car, in a parking lot where tons of students, including their daughter were present.

But if there is one thing about Tami, she loved to tease him. She always wants him to want more. "So sexy." She murmured through their sweet kiss. She kissed him again, a little bit harder this time, letting him know that she loves him, wants him. Her one hand is still playing with his hair, but she can sense the stress emulating from his body. She decisively takes her other hand and puts it on his thigh and moves it upward, reaching for him to help him relax.

He moved his hand as quickly as he could, covering her hand with his own. He had to stop her. He smirked as he tried to get the words out. "What are you doing?"

"You need to relax."

"Here? Like this? I can't relax like this."

She moves her hand away and readjusts her hat. "Okay. You're call, Coach."

He gets out and moves around to her side of the car, planting a kiss on her cheek. "I appreciate it, but there is no way. Can we see how tonight goes and take you up on your offer later?"

"The offer might not still be standing later, sugar."

"Tami, the tease, Taylor. It really fits perfectly." He put a hand on the small of her back and guided her into what he hoped wouldn't be a long night.

The evening progressed and just when he was searching the crowds for Tami to leave, Eric locked eyes with Jason. It still surprised a part of him when he saw him in his wheelchair. He would never get used to that image. Eric didn't mean to stare. He knew the lawsuit was not Jason's idea.

Then he saw it. Eric could see the sorrow in Jason's eyes, knowing that all the years the spent together were not being thrown away. Jason did not want this. Jason did not blame him. Jason turned away, leaving Eric to stare at his fading form, feeling his own eyes start to water.

Suddenly, he was distracted by the loudspeaker, and just like that, everything changed. They were going to the playoffs. And right when he needed it, Tami appeared to comfort him for the loss of his relationship with Jason and to celebrate his first playoff appearance.

He took Tami home that night and released himself into her. He released himself and all that tension. There was nothing romantic about it, but there was sense of comfort in her arms, knowing she would always be there for him, no matter what.

When he woke the next morning, he felt better. He went into his office with a clear head to focus on what was next. Making the playoffs during his first season as head coach was unheard of, but he did it. He accomplished that. It wasn't often he was proud of himself, but he was excited for what was to come.

As he exited the field house, he saw Jason waiting for him. Eric didn't know what to say, so instead of filing the silence, he waited.

"Listen, I just came out here to let you know no matter what anyone says, no matter what happens with this whole lawsuit thing, just know that it was out of my hands." Jason always spoke with purpose. "I was against it. You'll always be my Coach."

Eric couldn't speak. Relief completely washed over him. It was a different type of relief than hearing that small victory over the loudspeaker. A different type of relief than when he came in Tami the previous night. Both felt incredible, but this was different. Jason was officially letting him off the hook. He raised Jason like a son and didn't want to disappoint him. To hear him say those words, giving him that reassurance was something he didn't know he needed.

 _ **-Please take a moment and review**_


	13. Little Girl I Wanna Marry You

**Little Girl I Wanna Marry You**

 **Season 1 – Episode #13**

 **Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg and written by Jason Katims and Jason Gavin. All recognizable dialogue is theirs and all italics are my flashbacks**.

 **Guest Reviewers:** Thank you for your kind words. It makes me want to keep going.

 **Naguabo** : I think that was the second time you called me out on forgetting to include an important line in the dialogue. My apologies. I hope I didn't forget something in this episode. I had to give Eric the last word. I always imagine Eric to being way smarter than he lets on, especially when he speaks to people.

 **ICanStopAnytime:** I hope I did better with the past and present tenses, but I struggle with it because I am jumping around in time. I'll get the hang of it one of these days. I absolutely hated that inner pirate guy scene. I don't know why but my level of annoyance matched Eric's when it aired.

 _ **A/N: This was another one of my favorite episodes. I loved this storyline with Smash. Also, I do hope there are people out there reading this. Please drop me a review at the end! Please! Don't make me beg!**_

It's Tuesday morning and Eric was driving with Tami and Julie in the car. They decided to tune in to a call-in show where the content was just ridiculous to Eric. As Tami nodded her head in agreement with the host of the show, Eric turned his head and looked at her incredulously. How could she listen to this stuff?

Eric couldn't handle it for another second. He reached for the power button on the car radio. "Alright, that's enough."

Tami slapped his hand away. "Don't touch that! We're listening to that."

"Do you want to listen to this girl, who's running around town with her loser boyfriend robbing liquor stores? That's what you want to listen to?"

"Yes. She's robbing for love."

"Dad, it's compelling stuff." Julie chimed in.

Eric wanted to throw her one of his looks that expressed she was as ridiculous as her mother, but the fact that he was driving prevented him from doing so. "Why can't we listen to Sammy Meade? What's wrong with Sammy Meade?"

"Sammy Meade is no good for you."

"Dad, Sammy Meade is just stress is a bottle for you."

"Stress in a bottle, babe."

Eric threw is head back, a bit in frustration, as the radio host started talking about being in control of your destiny. He wasn't going to win this battle. The women in his life have joined forces which meant listening to this crap on the way to work.

After morning practice, Eric was in his office and the unexpected happened. Corinna Williams was not only coming at him from the locker room, but she was coming at him with Smash in tow. She was on fire. "Get into this office." She seethed and slammed the door behind him. "I want to know what kind of team you're running here. What you're doing to my son?"

"Mama, please…" Smash tried to interrupt.

Eric's eyes were wide, looking back and forth between Corinna and Smash, deducing from the situation that Smash was aware of what was happening. Eric wanted to get it out there that he was clueless. "Wait a second. I don't know what's going on here…" He continued to look back and forth, hoping Smash would provide some information.

"I'll show you what's going on here." She unzipped her purse, pulled out a clear plastic bag and threw it on Eric's desk. "This!"

He took in the contents in the bag and couldn't believe it. Steriods? Eric's eyes widened and he slowly, wordlessly raised those eyes at Smash.

"I thought you were a Christian man, Coach Taylor, but you're messing with my son's life to win football games? With his life?"

Smash tried to interrupt. He wanted to stick up for his coach, but his mother stopped him. "You be quiet! I don't want to hear one word out of you. These kids – they're stupid. They think they invincible…."

As Corinna went on, Eric stared at Smash, not believing he would do this. Did he even understand the weight in an action such as this? "I see it every day at the clinic. But Coach Taylor, you're supposed to know better."

"Ms. Williams, I can promise you, I knew nothing about this."

Corinna started to tear up, as she turned her attention away from Coach and to her son. "You have anything to say for yourself?"

Smash swallowed hard. "No, Ma'am."

She looked back at Coach. "I'm taking him home for the rest of the day."

She waited for Smash to walk out first and she followed, leaving the remnants of the biggest mistake of his life displayed out on Eric's desk. He quick grabbed the bag threw it in the top drawer and went to start his day.

Eric was about to call Tami and tell her what the hell just happened. How was he going to deal with this? What was he supposed to do? One phone call would ruin Smash's life. All these thoughts were swirling through his mind when his office line rang.

Mayor Rodell.

She called to invite him and Tami to go to dinner at her house this evening. This couldn't be good. Eric knew she wasn't inviting them out of the kindness of her heart. There was always an ulterior motive and he assumed it had to do with the way he was running his team. But she was the Mayor. He had to go. He silently thanked God that he was married to someone that loved being social. Thoughts of Tami reminded him that he needed her help.

He picked up the receiver to the phone and dialed her four digit extension. When she answered, he started rambling. "Hey. You busy? I need to talk to you. Can you come down here? Actually I can come up to you. "

"Are you okay?" She immediately sensed something was wrong.

"I'm coming up."

When he arrived, he lightly shut the door behind him, making sure it was sealed shut. His eyes spoke of fear and Tami, herself, started to worry. "Corinna Williams found steroids in Smash's room and she damn well near accused me of supplying them to him. I mean, Tami, come on. I may be a lot of things, but I would never, ever…"

She was shocked, but needed him to stop right there. "I know. That's crazy."

"I explained myself as best I could, but what the hell am I supposed to do now?"

She knew his predicament. She knew what he was legally obliged to do. She also knew what that meant for Smash, as well as her husband's future. "I don't know, babe." She said softly, trying to make sense of why Smash would do something so stupid.

Just then there was a knock on her door. "I have to get back to work. We'll talk more about it tonight."

He chuckled. "Oh yeah, and tonight, we have to have dinner at Mayor Rodell's house."

"What? Why on earth are we having dinner there?"

"I don't know, but I'll see you at home."

The last thing Eric wanted to do when he got home was take a shower, put on a suit and go out and be social. He needed a drink. After he got out of the shower and Tami was applying her make-up, he went to make himself a scotch. He needed to take the edge off.

In his socks, shirt and boxers, his mouth watered as he poured the copper-colored liquid in his tumbler. He brought the drink back in his bedroom and lay on the bed. His eyes were focused on his glass as he took his first sip. "Why are we even going over to Rodell's? We don't have to go over there." As he stretched his legs, he noticed Tami laid out several different ties and pants for him to choose from.

"I don't know honey. I didn't talk to her. You talked to her. And don't lie down please. Please, get back up." She grabbed at his legs pulling them over the edge of the bed, turning him into a sitting up position. "Come, on, I put your ties out for you. I put your clothes out for you."

His eyes were no longer focused on his drink, but now on his sexy wife. She was wearing a black dress that accentuated her curves and open in the back. He couldn't help but smile at her as she leaned over him to grab a tie, her breasts very close to his face. She didn't linger. She wrapped a tie around his neck, as his eyes admired her form.

"What are you going to do about Smash?" She asked, patting him on his biceps. "Tie that."

"If I report him and I'm obliged to report him that kid is never going to play high school football again. His career is over." Tami turned to face him as she wrestled with a hanger and his suit jacket. Eric continued. "If I don't report him, which goes against everything I stand for, I can't let the kid play juiced."

"Well, it seems to me that because you are considering doing something you would never normally do, you are leaning that way."

"I don't want to lean that way. I know what's right and what's wrong. I know that difference. But God, Tami, he is a kid. I don't want to be the reason this kid's future is shot."

"You are not the reason."

Eric looked down at his hands, knowing that statement was true. Smash got himself into this mess. Tami came over and put her pointer finger underneath his chin. "Whatever you decide, I'm behind you. Ok?"

"Ok." He winked at her. "Thanks."

"Come on, we have to get going." She said as she slipped on her heels.

He got up to put on his pants, but stopped and walked over to the dresser, pulling her close to him. "You look gorgeous tonight."

"Thank you." She kissed him quickly. "Now get dressed."

Dinner was rather uneventful, excluding the strange woman that joined them. Barbara was a friend of Mayor Rodell's who was very smart and knew a lot about politics and Texas football. They enjoyed after-dinner drinks by the fire when Tami and Eric both realized what was actually going on there. Mayor Rodell was gay and Barbara was her girlfriend. The not-so-innocent touches and the references to each other's families getting together made for an awkward situation for both Eric and Tami. Of course, Tami could handle herself better than Eric in these types of situations.

Tami immediately sensed Eric's uncomfortableness. He was laughing at something he didn't find funny. He could no longer make eye contact with either woman. He started to pull at his collar and scratch his neck. As if the disclosure of their sexual orientation wasn't enough, things got even more awkward.

"Tami, you know I am running for re-election. I'm putting together my campaign team. I want you to be on it."

"Wow." It was all Tami could muster.

Eric didn't like the sound of this at all. He was staring at the woven carpet wondering if this was the sole purpose of them being invited.

"You're a strong, smart, charismatic lady."

"Thank you." Even Eric could sense Tami's uneasiness in those words.

"And, um, together, there's no stopping us. " Mayor Rodell continued.

"Well, thank you." Tami said brightly as she regained her composure.

Eric didn't like this at all. Now, these two women, who happen to be lesbians, are telling his wife that she is charismatic. Eric knew this game and that is why he always hated politicians. They were using her for the sexy woman she is, who also happens to be his wife.

"I appreciate that. That is…" She turned to Eric for some help but his eyes looked a million miles away to her. "…that is flattering. And I would love to consider it." She kept her eyes on Eric. Why did he seem so upset?

Eric didn't say anything about Mayor Rodell's offer when they got home. Tami knew Eric needed time to digest this. Eric never did well with change and if she decided to do this, it would change their lives a bit. She would have to dedicate more time to the campaign than to him. It usually took Eric a few days to get used to a major change in his life. Sometimes it took more.

 _Eric left for college sometime in early August for summer training camp. When he signed on the dotted line with the Aggies, there was a lot of fine print he didn't even bother to read. As a member of the team and on full scholarship, he was required to do things he rarely wanted to do. He didn't think that leaving Tami behind was going to shake him as hard as it did._

 _They were sitting on the front steps of his house, saying goodbye. "I wish you would have decided to go to school somewhere closer to College Station. This is going to be hard, Tami."_

 _Tami cupped his face, holding his stare. "You are about to start a new chapter, Eric. There's a whole new world opening for you. You should be excited."_

" _What if I'm happy in the world I'm in?"_

" _Well, you can't stay here forever."_

 _Eric couldn't help but feel annoyed over Tami's nonchalance over them being separated. "Don't you even care that we are not going to be together anymore?"_

 _This question caught her off-guard. She didn't expect him to express how deep his feelings ran. Of course, she didn't like it. She was scared things weren't going to work out, but they had only been together for a few months. She wasn't totally convinced that he was even going to want their relationship to continue once he got to college. They talked about it, of course, but Eric wore blinders. He didn't entertain the ideas that girls would be throwing themselves at him, that he would be somewhat of a local celebrity and that partying in college would be very different than what they were used to in high school._

 _Tami thought about it all the time. She knew she kept her guard up because of how blind-sided she was with Mo. That wound ran deep. "Of course I care, Eric. But I have faith in us. And I will be there to visit you in two weeks."_

 _Eric looked down at his hands as he laced his fingers in out together, trying to think about what to say next. "I'm going to miss you." He didn't want to fight with her on his last night with her, but he was never the type of person to shy away from expressing things that were important to him. "I guess right now, I'm just surprised that you don't even seem to care about how my leaving is going to affect your life."_

 _Tami grew defensive. "Of course I care!" She didn't mean to raise her voice, but she often did that when she felt adamant about something. "I'm going to miss you too."_

 _He rolled his eyes. "I don't think you understand. Nevermind."_

 _She thought she understood. He was going to miss the physical part of their relationship. When he was training hard all day, she would not be there to help him relax at night. She figured he would have to be responsible for all of his own releases. "You have to say it now. You can't just say 'Nevermind' when something is clearly bothering you." His next words shocked her._

" _The idea of you not being a part of my new world is going to kill me. I get that you want to go to Houston and forge your own path. You have drilled that in my head over the past couple of weeks. I guess I wish you wanted to be close to me too. I wish you saw me in your future world too."_

" _Wait a second. I do see you in my future. I see us visiting each other and spending weekends together. I am looking forward to seeing your new world through your eyes." She chose her next words wisely, not wanting to spur yet another argument about the inevitable separation. "I thought you were going to mostly miss the physicality of me."_

" _I am. No doubt about it, but…."_

" _What do you want me to say? That I'm worried about your need to be physical? Well, I am, but Eric, I have been down that road before."_

" _I would never do what Mo did to you."_

" _Thank you for saying that Eric, but we don't know what's going to happen. A part of me thinks you underestimate what opportunities are going to come your way."_

" _It won't matter."_

" _It will…"_

" _You don't think I'm worried too. I know how beautiful you are, Tami. I am completely aware of how guys look at you, want you."_

" _Well, we have no choice but to have faith in each other."_

" _That's it?"_

" _Trust. It's all we got."_

" _I'm not going to like getting used to this."_

In his office the next morning, Smash came in looking like shit. "I made a mistake."

"Tell me something I don't know!"

"Haven't you ever made a mistake?"

"Yeah, Smash, I made mistakes. I've been late for dinner. I've forgot stuff at the supermarket. I've made mistakes out on the field I've come to regret. Those are mistakes, Smash. What you did wasn't any mistake though, son. What you did was you screwed yourself over!" Eric pounded his hand. "You screwed this team over. You know what you call that?" Eric's anger was coming out as he raised his voice. "You call that a stupid dumbass cowardly act, is what you call that, Smash."

Smash looked at the floor. Eric could tell his words stung a bit. He lowered his voice and continued. "I want to know what you're doing. I want to know how long you've been doing it. I want to know who else knows about it. I want to know where you got it. How about we start right there?"

Eric wanted all the details so he could figure out how to handle the situation. He knew what the right thing was, but he also knew that would mean a lot of bad things to come. He needed to figure out if it was even possible to try and work around this piece of knowledge a part of him wished he never knew.

After hearing the whole story from Smash, he still didn't know what he was going to do long-term, but he knew where he had to start. At practice before watching game film, he announced that Smash would not be playing in Friday night's game. "I'm not asking you to respect his privacy. I'm telling you to respect his privacy." The last thing Eric needed was for his players to pressure Smash about it. The less people knew, the better.

That night, Eric and Tami were in bed, watching the news when Mayor Rodell came on the television. Eric was watching her intently, hating her motive for recruiting his wife. He just didn't have the heart the tell Tami. He figured, at this point, he wouldn't argue with her until she was serious about it.

"She is a smart politician."

"Smart politician with an alternative lifestyle." He decided to put the first part of his concern out there.

Tami chuckled. "Shocking. This town gets weirder and weirder. And why did she choose us to open up to?"

"Cause she realizes what a forward thinking individual I am."

Tami laughed again. She loved when Eric cracked his subtle jokes. He rarely did that with anyone but her. She turned serious, trying not to melt to his charm. "I did look at her website. This education plan that she has is really good."

Eric kept his eyes closed as he spoke. He didn't want her to see the doubt in his eyes. "You know what though? With everything you got on your plate with Julie and me… and my needs and demands, that's an awful lot, isn't it?"

She cuddled in closer to him and flirted as she spoke. "I know you do have many needs and demands…."

"I sure do." He smirked thinking of the things he begs of her to satisfy those certain needs.

"…but the school needs a lot of help. Our school…"

Eric was growing a little frustrated. Was she actually considering this? "Does she even know you voted against her?"

"Details." Tami shook her head, but leaned in to kiss him. She knew the easiest way to get him on-board with this, and it wasn't with her words.

The knock at their front door interrupted her sure-fire plan. Eric got up angrily knowing how easy it was going to be to get laid at that moment, which was now ruined. When he answered the door, Smash stood there wanting to know if he was off the team.

Eric was pissed. "I should have reported this as soon as it happened." Eric seethed. "I'm risking my job. Inside this house, I have a wife and daughter. They depend on me to provide for them." He knew Smash had no idea what this stupid mistake meant for him. "Do you understand that?"

"Yes, sir."

"I don't know what I'm going to do. When I do know, I will let you know. Until then, why don't you do me a favor and try and keep your mouth shut."

Eric shut the door, and placed both palms down on the cool metal. He took a deep breath as he bowed his head to the floor. He needed to figure out a way to get past this, to move on and let the anger go. He just didn't know how to do that when he wasn't sure what he was going to do.

He felt Tami's soothing hands on his shoulders. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He said, not picking up his head.

"Eric, whatever you decide, I'm behind you."

"I know that." He said, as he lifted his head. As he stared at the ceiling in search of an answer, Tami continued.

"I don't want you to make a decision regarding Smash because of Julie and me. You have to make a decision based on what is best for Smash, the team and your career."

He turned around to face her. "All my decisions have you and Julie at the forefront."

He smiled softly. "I appreciate that. But you also need to put yourself there too."

He lightly smiled. "I love you for that. I love you for worrying about me."

"I love you for worrying about me too." She stated simply, as if everyone had the amazing give and take that their relationship had. "Come to bed. This will be here for you to worry about tomorrow."

He did exactly that, but instead of making love, he held on to her. He often wished Tami understood how rare their relationship was.

Tami was right. The next day, the situation was thrown in his face. The media got word that Smash wouldn't be playing and they held a press conference that the athletic director made him attend. He knew the importance of remaining tight lipped.

Then Buddy attacked him. He didn't have time to deal with Buddy Garrity. He was more than happy to get rid of Buddy when Matt came to his office. He was at his wits end, but didn't want to dismiss Matt. Eric was so consumed with Smash, the press and the questions, he didn't fully appreciate what Matt wanted to get across to him. Instead, he took Matt's eagerness to win on Friday as yet another person telling him how to do his job. "I'll take a look at them." Eric snapped referring to Matt's notes. He didn't mean to snap, but his judgement was clouded with outsiders getting in his head.

Friday finally arrived and Eric wandered into the kitchen in a hurry. He was a little bit late and wanted a cup of coffee. He saw Julie sitting at the counter. "Hey. You're late. Why are you not in homeroom right now?"

"I'm waiting for Matt to pick me up. I am going with him to the bus station this morning. Mom said it was okay."

"Bus station?" Eric asked as he reached for the coffee pot to fill his to-go mug.

"Matt's father is going back to Iraq."

Eric immediately felt bad. When Matt came into his office yesterday, he had no idea what was going on. He was usually so in tune with his players. He was usually on top of big things like this. Between this crap with Smash and this damn lawsuit, Eric felt so clouded at times.

"Oh. Okay. How is he doing with it?"

"I think he was surprised at first, but in actuality, I think he feels a bit relieved.

"Good. He's a tough kid. He'll be okay."

"Yeah."

Eric dared to peek behind those clouds. "Things going okay with you and Matt?" He didn't want to feel disconnected with his daughter. "He treating you well?"

Julie shouldn't have been surprised by Eric's concern. It was only a few weeks ago that he expressed his concerns over the ping pong table. "Things are going okay."

"Just ok?" Eric remembered how exciting the beginning of a relationship can be.

"No. They're good, Dad."

"If they weren't good, you know you can talk to me about it. I want you to feel like you can come to me."

"I know that too."

"Good. He's treating you with respect, right Julie?"

"Always, dad."

"Okay. I love you." Eric headed out the door and spent the whole day going over the offense. How were they going to win without Smash? He looked over the plays Matt drew, and he had to admit, they were actually quite good. He had some good ideas in there.

Later that day, Eric was at a coaches' meeting, when he saw Tami in the hallway. She motioned that she would come back, but he waved her to come in. She apologized to Eric's colleagues and she could tell he was a bit peeved about the interruption.

He led her to his office and shut the door behind her. "Why are you interrupting my meeting? I don't appreciate that."

"I'm sorry about the meeting." Tami stuttered, a bit nervous about what she had to say.

"What do you want? Come on now, I'm busy."

"Alright. I wanted to come down and I wanted to tell you that I have decided that I think I am going to go ahead, ummm…" She didn't make eye contact with him, but knew she needed to. She lifted her eyes to meet his. "…join Mayor Rodell's campaign."

Eric's eyes always spoke first. They narrowed, while his lips were pressed together in a tight grin. "Well, that's great." His tone dripped with sarcasm.

"It is great. Honestly, it is great. It's a great opportunity. I'm going to be able to help our school. I'm going to be able to help all the schools in the whole county." As the words flowed out of her mouth, she felt herself trying to sell him on the idea. She knew he was going to be a tough sell, but there was no way she was going to back down.

Eric figured to put it out there as gently as possible. "I'm sure she realizes how good you are." Start with a compliment. That usually eased the blow. "I'm sure she realizes you're the coach's wife. That will help out with the campaign." He saw it. It was obvious to him.

"Oh, you think…" She grew angry. "You think that's why she asked me? Because I'm the coach's wife?"

"I didn't say that."

"That's exactly what you just said." Tami couldn't believe that was what he truly believed. She was not the type of person to ride her husband's coat tails. She always forged her own path. Yes, their marriage was built on compromise, and she may have followed him for countless jobs, but she liked to think she was rather independent. She hated that he didn't think that.

Eric looked back at the coaches through the glass window, taking a moment to gather his thoughts and control his anger. "I don't like politicians. That other night? That little reveal at the dinner and everything…"

Tami rolled her eyes. Is that what he was worried about? That Mayor Rodell likes women? Tami didn't care why should he?

"Just hear me out." He continued. "Something like that gets out in this town? That is not going to do her any good and it's not going to do anyone any good that is close to her. That's what I'm saying."

Tami tried to make sense of his point. "Wait. So you don't want me to do this because she's a lesbian?"

"I'm not saying that." He raised his voice. He tried to control his temper, but clearly, she did not understand what his ultimate worry was. He didn't even know if he could express that with her right now.

Tami argued back. "That's exactly what you said. I'm bouncing it back to you, sugar."

"I'm uncomfortable with it." There he said it. "I'm uncomfortable with it." He repeated.

"Well, you know what? You're just going to have to be uncomfortable with it then.

They stared at each other. Neither wanting to back down. Finally Eric started to laugh. He knew she wasn't going to give in easily. He had been married to her long enough to know that once her mind was made up, it was going to be tough to change. "It's never a dull moment with you."

She laughed back. "Well, that's why you married me sugar."

"I guess so. I don't quite remember why I married you, but there's never a dull moment with you." He loved when she challenged him. It was aggravating and sometimes irritating, but no other woman kept him on his toes like she did.

She walked over to him, closing the space between the two of them. She lightly pecked his lips and cupped his face. "I'm so happy to have your support." She patted his chest affectionately. "I hope you have a great game tonight."

"Uh-huh." He said, the frustration of her constantly winning against him getting to her.

She wiped her fingertips against his lips, rubbing any evidence of a kiss away. "Thank you."

 _He realized early on that life with Tami was going to be a rollercoaster. At first he thought that the way they disagreed about things was not normal. His mother and father rarely fought, not in front of him anyway. Most girls that crossed his path were always submissive. The ones in high school would be sweet to him, always offering him rides places, baking him cookies, and easily giving into to any sexual request he made._

 _The girls in college were submissive in a different way. They were submissive with their bodies, with their egos and with their self-respect. With Tami almost two hours away, at times his curiosity was peaked. Girls would throw offers his way that he thought only existed in fantasies._

 _Tami was never one of those girls. She was never submissive with her beliefs, not with her ideals and not with Eric. He loved her because deep down he loved the challenge and he loved the chase. He was a competitor at heart and when he had to, he would compete with her too._

 _Thankfully, Tami's degree in psychology gave her credibility when she told him how they acted was normal. "Sugar, we have to get it out, otherwise resentment will follow us around. Honesty always wins, no matter how hard the truth can hurt. "_

 _In the beginning of their relationship, she challenged him with space. After their freshman year, she decided she was going to stay in Houston that summer. After their junior year, she decided she was going to study abroad. She drove him crazy those summers and he probably hitting the bottle harder than he should have._

 _After they were married, she challenged him to enter the decade of the 90s. She expected him to share household chores, change diapers and put dinner on the table at least 40 percent of the time. His own mother never demanded these things from his father. "I'm college educated, Eric. I work too. As much as I love taking care of you, you need to take care of me too." Eric knew she had a valid point and he was grateful she wanted him to take care of her._

 _After several conversations of having another baby, Tami blew his mind after a very intense round of sex. As they lay breathless, Tami pulled him right down from his euphoric high. "That one might have done it."_

" _Huh?" He was barely coherent, trying to catch his breath._

" _That felt powerful. You came hard."_

" _Uh-huh."_

" _I took myself off the pill a few weeks ago." She said, matter of factly._

 _He sat up quickly. "What?" He was confused._

" _What?" She was confused._

" _You didn't tell me you did that?"_

" _We talked about it, so I did it."_

 _He chuckled, and said for about the thousandth time already in their relationship, "There's never a dull moment with you."_

The Panthers won that evening, but it was not without any fourth quarter dramatics that Eric wished he could have been spared. He reached out to Matt, asking him what he thought he wanted to do in a certain situation. He explained to Matt that he looked over the plays and he wanted Matt to make the call on the field. With his father gone again, Matt easily stepped up into that confident kid he had been grooming the past few weeks.

As everyone went back to Buddy's dealership to celebrate, all Eric wanted to do was find Tami. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to explain that it wasn't his needs that he was afraid were going to be neglected. He wanted to tell her his real underlying concerns.

Fans were hugging him and Matt cornered him to celebrate their collaboration. Eric didn't care about celebrating anything at the moment. He told Matt to hold off and wait until there's something to celebrate. Eric knew the road ahead was going to be very long.

The he spotted her. Tami was across the room, cornered by the Mayor and touching her in a way that made his blood boil. Why did she have to hold her hand like that? Why did she have to rub her arms that way? The only satisfying thing about what he was witnessing was that he could see Tami's uncomfortableness with it too. At that moment, he knew she was feeling a bit out of her element.

Eric couldn't watch anymore. He sought out Corinna and asked if he could have a few words with Smash. After telling Tami he would meet her at home, he took Smash to the diner to let him know what he decided. "What I'm about to say, stays between you and me. You're going to get yourself clean. You are going to submit yourself to private voluntary drug testing, until I decide I can trust you – which will probably be a damn long time."

"Thank you, sir." Smash knew he would owe Coach one forever.

"I don't want you to thank me."

Eric wanted to make sure his next words held weight. "You got yourself into this crap because you didn't think you were big enough? I hope you see the irony in that. You don't listen to the Grady Hunts of the world. You listen to the people that love you and you listen to the people that you trust and most of all, you listen to yourself." He paused and lowered his voice so this next part would stick. "I hope you realize just how far I'm sticking my neck out for you."

"I do. And I'll never let you down again, sir."

"You best damn not."

When he got home, Tami was on the couch waiting for him. "How'd it go with Smash?"

"Okay. I told him my plan. He doesn't seem to understand how hard I am going to punish him, but at least I made the decision. I feel better about that." He walked over and sat on the coffee table in front of her. He rubbed her legs, teasingly, as he asked her about her night. "I saw you with Mayor Rodell. Everything good there?"

"I think so." She said.

"Yeah? She was a little touchy with you, don't you think?"

"A little." She admitted. Then it dawned on her. "Is that what you're worried about?" She sat up, her feet planted on the floor and her legs resting comfortably in between his. "Wait. Is that what you're worried about? That Mayor Rodell is going to hit on me? Is that what bothers you in all of this?"

Eric looked down at his hands and he folded them. "Maybe. I don't like anyone hitting on my wife."

She covered his hands with hers. "Honey…"

"I mean it Tami. I've spent the last 2 decades watching men admire you and now I have to worry about women too."

She laughed. "You never have to worry about anything. You know that."

"It's not just that. I feel like they are using you. You are smart and determined and full of great ideas, but I don't think that is the only thing they see. I think they see your beauty and your charisma and they think that will also be beneficial to their campaign." He didn't know how to explain the next part, but he knew Tami was a straight shooter and preferred honesty over eggshells. "And if I had a losing season and we were not in the playoffs, I would have never mentioned the thing about being my wife. But with this town and the way they think about football, I don't want everyone to overlook your creativity, your determination and your intelligence."

She leaned in and kissed him. "Thank you."

He decided to lighten the mood. "Plus, with all my needs and demands, I'm not sure how you are going to fit it all in."

She stood up and tugged at his hands for him to get up too. "I have needs and demands too, Eric."

"Good. I want you to need me and even demand me, whenever you want."

She stood up, not letting go of his hand and pulled him toward their bedroom. She stopped to whisper in his ear. "I need for you to cum in me, and I demand that you make me cum too."

"Done!" He exclaimed, now leading her to their bedroom.

 _ **\- Please review. I cannot say enough how much it means when I see them!**_


	14. Upping the Ante

**Upping the Ante**

 **Season 1 – Episode #14**

 **Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg and written by David Hudgins. All recognizable dialogue is theirs and italics are mine.**

 **Guests:** Thank you for the reviews. I love really dissecting each episode. I do think writing an individual story is easier because you don't have to work in the constraints of what was given, but then you have to come up with the actual storyline – much harder creatively.

 **Natbenson:** Thanks for the review.

 **ICanStopAnytime:** The writers did nothing with that storyline of Tami working on the Mayor's campaign. I thought that might have been interesting. I always assume since Tami is so committed to education and how she gets Julie involved in working for Habitat, she had some of her own worldly experiences.

 **Naguabo:** The staying power is tough to keep. I always wish I update more often, but it is really time consuming.

 _ **A/N: Please take a moment to review. It is a true motivator.**_

The alarm sounded, the shrill beeping invaded his no longer peaceful mind. Eric reached with his right hand to silence it, trying not to slam the rectangle button and wake Tami. It was 5:15am and still dark outside. He did not want to get out of bed this early.

Unfortunately, it was Smash who made this unbearable time a reality. Now, because he put his ass on the line for this kid, he was going to make sure he paid. He was not going to give him one pass as they moved forward. Smash let him down and he'd be damned to play the fool for his mistakes.

He removed the covers and swung his legs out of bed. He sat like that for a moment, as he dreaded getting this early of a start to his day. The alarm sounded again and he quick reached over and silenced it. He must have hit snooze instead of turning it off.

He felt Tami's hand on his back. "Why are you getting up so early?"

He peeked over his right shoulder and noticed her eyes were still closed. "Sorry about the alarm."

"I don't care about the alarm. Where are you going this early?"

Eric drew a deep breath annoyed that he had to play this babysitting game. "Smash is supposed to be at the fieldhouse at 6:00am. I want to make sure he is there at 6:00am."

"Or you can just trust him and come back to bed." She suggested.

"I can't trust him. " Eric said. He wondered how long he was going to hate what he did. "I have to treat him like a damn baby, for the cowardly, stupid thing he did."

Tami sat up slightly and rubbed Eric's back, wanting to offer some comfort. She immediately felt the soreness between her legs, as it served as a reminder of last night. Eric turned to face her and her eyes were apologetic. He smirked as he spoke. "I had fun last night. I'll keep my mind on that."

Tami thought about the tugging of clothes, the slow start, but the sudden rush and heat that pulsated through her body. How, for the first time in a very long time, he lifted on the counter top outside their bathroom where she normally applied her makeup and plunged in and out of her. Images flashed through her mind, like paparazzi snapping their cameras.

She didn't feel her lips curve, but Eric noticed they did. "I'm glad you had fun too."

When Eric arrived at the fieldhouse, he thought about Smash and how angry he still was. Logically, he couldn't stay mad forever. He made the decision to not report him. He made the decision to take that risk, but how long was he going to make Smash pay? He didn't think there was enough time in the world to wait for the anger to dissipate.

As Eric opened the door to the fieldhouse, he noticed the lights were already turned on. He saw Smash already at work, paying his debt off to Coach.

"There's two ways to fold a towel. There's my way and the wrong way. Let's do it right." Eric called to Smash as he walked in. That felt good, Eric thought.

"Yes Sir."

"Here's the game plan for Friday. I want ten of them. The binders and notebooks are over by the copier." He dropped the stack of papers where Smash was folding towels.

"Right now?" Smash wasn't questioning if he should do it at all, but was questioning if he should stop folding the towels and do that first.

Eric could have strangled him. "Well, gee, yeah Smash. If it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience for you. I'd appreciate it." His tone dripped with sarcasm before his voice rose to the level of anger. "Hey! Let me tell you something. You think I rather be here right now with you at the crack of dawn than be home with my family cooking breakfast?"

"Coach. I'm sorry"

"Huh?" Eric took it a decibel higher.

"I'm sorry."

"Are you thinking about that?"

Smash shook his head back and forth, frustrated at the situation he put himself in.

"Did you bring those test results from the clinic?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let me see them."

Smash handed the paper over. "Coach, I didn't mean…."

"You didn't mean what? You didn't mean to risk my reputation? My career? Is that what you were going to say? I've got the chairman of the district executive committee – you know what he's doing – he's calling me at home. So you're not the only one with your ass on the line, Smash!"

"Yes, sir." It was the only thing he knew to say that wasn't going to get him in trouble.

Eric handed back the paper and the sarcasm returned. "That's good. Congratulations."

How was he going to let this anger go?

The week continued along the same path. Eric was gone in the mornings before Tami and Julie were out of their rooms, leaving them on their own for breakfast. Without Eric present, Julie thought Tuesday morning was the perfect opportunity to ask her mother about going out with Matt during the week. Julie was smart enough to know Eric could be unreasonable about these things. She knew her mother would hear her out and understand her needs better. She hadn't figured out if it was because Tami was once a teenage girl or if she just had more capability to understand because of her educational background. Either way, Julie knew this was her best opportunity.

To Julie's disappointment, Tami's initial response was not what she hoped for. "No, you are not going to a concert on a week night."

"It's not just any concert…" Julie began, making her best case. After a few questions, Tami eventually relented with a few rules.

"And don't tell your father. Let me break it to your father." Even Tami knew how unreasonable Eric could be at times when it came to his little girl.

During her free block of time during her day, Tami made her way to Eric's office. She leaned against the door frame of his office. He was sitting at the computer, clicking the mouse, studying something puzzling to him. She watched him for a few seconds, admiring how good he looked in deep concentration.

His voice broke her thoughts. "What brings you down here?"

She pushed her body off the concrete slab, walked over to where he was sitting and leaned against the desk. "It's weird not seeing you in the mornings."

He didn't look away from the screen. "During summer camp, I'm not there in the morning."

"Yeah, but our school routine is out of whack when you're not there." Tami stared that the screen too, trying to figure out what he was looking at, but then she remembered why she really came down. "So, Julie asked me if she can go to a concert on Wednesday night with Matt. I told her yes, but she has to be home by eleven."

This got Eric's attention. "She can't go to a concert on a Wednesday!"

"I figured you were going to say that, but if she's home by eleven, I don't think it's too bad. Plus she came out and asked me. I want to trust her, Eric." Tami could see Eric was wavering. "She could have lied to us. She could have made up something, but she didn't. She came out and asked if she could go and I rather have it that way."

"I don't want her running around this town unsupervised. She's fifteen years old."

"Eric, she could have lied. Matt could have asked her to lie, but he didn't. Not like what you used to make me do."

"That's different. You weren't allowed to do anything."

"Julie's going to start to think she's not allowed to do anything. And to be honest, I'm not proud of the relationship I had with my mother. I felt like I had to lie to her. I don't want Julie to feel like that. I want to give her this chance. Let her come home on time and be responsible so the next time she asks, the decision won't be this hard to make."

"Fine." He got up out of his chair a lightly pecked her lips. "I miss our mornings too." He winked, knowing it wasn't just the breakfasts he was missing." I'll walk you back up to your office." As he waited for her to exit in front of him, he felt the need to defend their actions as kids. "For the record, I never asked you to lie to your mother."

Tami rolled her eyes at him.

 _Tami told her fair share of lies to her mother while she was dating Mo. Her mother was overly protective and Tami assumed it was because of the tough life her mother led. Mrs. Hayes always wanted better for her girls, but more importantly she wanted them to want better._

 _Tami didn't remember the exact moment her father left, but her mother constantly reminded her how important it was to be independent. Her mother made no secret of the fact that she didn't like Mo. He was too showy and the fact that he didn't work hard for his money annoyed Mrs. Hayes further._

 _So when Mo broke her heart, Mrs. Hayes tried to be sympathetic with Tami, but hoped Tami would now go away to college and not look back at the rich boyfriend who thought more of himself than her daughter._

 _When Tami started to date Eric, she loosened the reins a bit. Enrolled in a college far away from him and leaving in a few short weeks, Mrs. Hayes didn't see Eric as a threat. Tami grew strong from her heartbreak with Mo. She wasn't going to let Eric be the focal point of her future._

 _It wasn't until their first semester of college was in the books and they were home for winter break that Tami started lying to her mother on a regular basis. Eric would ask her to stay out later with him, ask her to hang out his house with no adult supervision and ask her to spend the night with him._

 _It was New Year's Eve and everyone was home from college. He wanted to take her to a party, hang out with their old friends and more importantly, he wanted her to spend the night at his house._

 _He gave her his best sell. ""My parents are away Tami. We can spend the night together with no worries of being interrupted. No college roommates walking in, no being quiet in fear that someone will hear us."_

 _Eric had a point. Their sexual relationship had not really had the opportunity to flourish. Before they left for college, their physical relationship was not at that point and in college there were always other obstacles to deal with. Eric played football over Thanksgiving so this was their first opportunity to be alone and uninterrupted._

" _What am I supposed to tell my mother?"_

" _Tell her you are spending the night at Melissa's house. You do that often enough for her to believe it. Tami, I want to be with you all the time. And not in a twin bed with a sock on the door."_

 _He melted her. The thing she quickly realized about Eric was that he often said things like that not to coerce her into doing things she didn't want to do, but because he really felt them. He expressed his deepest feelings with no other motive than to let her know how he felt about her._

 _He could tell she was indecisive about it. "You know what? I'm sorry. I shouldn't be doing this to you. I'll take any amount of time with you as I can get."_

 _She smiled a genuine smile at him. "I'll tell her I'm sleeping at Melissa's."_

On the walk back to her office, she gently reminded him of that New Year's Eve and once again explained why they needed to let Julie loose a bit. He eventually came around and agreed with her. As he leaned in for a kiss goodbye, a smile spread across his face.

"What?"

"We could have saved ourselves that entire conversation. I just realized that I have to do a TV appearance thing and I think it's going to be important that Matt goes with me."

"Don't do that."

He kissed her quickly and started down the hall. "I'm definitely doing that!"

Wednesday night, after practice, Eric came home to an empty house. He had about an hour before he had to pick Matt up and go over to the television studio. He was so annoyed. He didn't want to do this. Why did Buddy always rope him into this crap?

He took a shower and as he was stepping out, Tami called from the bedroom. "Hey hon. Sorry I'm late. I pulled out your suit and your tie. It's on the bed."

"Thanks." He called back. "Where's Julie?"

"She said something about going to Matt's house to watch his grandmother while you are at the studio." Eric stepped out of the bathroom with the towel tied around his waist. Tami couldn't help but notice how good he looked. She tried to focus her attention back to what she was saying. "She didn't seem too happy about it."

"About helping Matt out? Why?"

Tami should have known Eric wouldn't understand. "Because not only did he cancel their date, but now he asks her to do this? She's probably feeling a bit let down." Although Julie was his daughter, Eric still thought like a football player at times.

Eric slid the towel off and started to dry his body. He felt Tami's eyes on him, and as much as he liked when she gawked at him, he knew he didn't have time for what he envisioned. "Which tie did you pick?" He said as he towel dried his hair, pretending like he actually cared about his attire.

She brought a red dotted tie over and when he was done with his towel he tossed it aside, leaving him standing completely naked in front of her. He grabbed the tie from her hands and looped it around her neck. He tugged both ends and pulled her close to him. "You like what you see." It wasn't a question, but more of a statement. This was the confident Eric Tami fell in love with. "You like what you see. I know you won't admit it, but you like what you see." He gave her a sexy smirk, and leaned in to kiss her. He opened his mouth and closed it before their tongues met. He knew if he deepened that kiss, he would never get that suit on in time.

"I like what I see." She admitted.

"Good." He said, as he felt a bit of satisfaction. "It's good to hear sometimes, when I don't have to drag it out of you. You always like to play these little games."

"I'm not playing any games, sugar."

"I'd love to play a game with you right now…" He teased. "…but I have to go."

"I don't play any games." She repeated.

"Okay." He said, making his way over to his dresser to get dressed.

Julie came home first which probably meant that Eric went out for a beer with Buddy after the taping. Julie was in the kitchen and rummaging through the refrigerator, looking for something they probably didn't have in there to eat.

"How was your night?" Tami called from the couch.

"It was okay." She made her way to the other side and took a seat at the counter.

Tami got up and went into the kitchen so she could face her. "You mad that Matt asked you to do that tonight?" Tami never beat around the bush. "Watch his grandmother?" She clarified.

"No." Julie said looking at her spoon. She decided on yogurt. "Yes." She said sadly. "I don't know." She was having trouble digesting it. "He called me his girlfriend. The other day, he slipped and called me his girlfriend. And girlfriends are supposed to do things for their boyfriends, right?"

Tami knew better than to interrupt. She did hear the front door open and shut down the hallway, but she wasn't sure if Julie heard it. "But Tyra keeps telling me that Matt is going to have girls falling all over him and that I should lie and let him know that I have options."

"Is that what you want to do? Try to make Matt jealous?" Tami interjected. She knew that was not normal behavior for Julie.

"Not really. But even Lois has been telling me that Matt is just going to turn into one of those typical football players and I am going to end up getting hurt."

"What do you think?" Tami wanted to say football players have a reputation for a reason, but she was keenly aware that Eric was listening to their conversation. "Do you trust Matt?"

"It's not that I don't trust him. I just felt like tonight, he took a little bit of advantage of me."

Tami hoped Eric made the correlation to how Julie felt at that moment to how he treated all those girls in high school. The only difference was that their Julie wasn't afraid to admit it and speak up for herself. "You should tell him that. He's never going to know how you feel if you don't tell him."

"Do you think I am making a big deal out of nothing?"

"I think you can't help how you feel."

"Okay. Thanks mom." Julie retreated to her bedroom and after she heard the door close, she peered down the hallway and saw Eric leaned against the front door.

"How much did you hear of that?"

"What did he do? Matt? How did he take advantage of her?"

Tami could sense the anger in his voice and Tami knew he assumed it was something physical. "Honestly, she is feeling a little insecure. She'll be okay."

Eric started to walk toward the hallway the led to her bedroom. "Maybe I should talk to her?"

"You are the last person that should talk to her." When he gave her a questioning look, she continued. "Do you know how many girls from high school you made feel that exact same way?"

"That's not true. Don't say that."

"Come on, Eric." She said surprised that he could be so dense. "You treated girls like crap and they let you."

"I never did anything hurtful. I won you over, didn't I?"

"That's because I didn't let you walk all over me."

"Give me one example." He challenged. "Tell me one time where you recall me not treating someone well."

"Just one?"

 _Tami was headed to the bathroom between classes, and when she opened the door she saw a group of rally girls comforting one of their own. She pretended not to pay attention, but her heart broke for this girl._

" _I did what you told me." The inconsolable girl said. "I waited for Eric to have a few beers and I flirted with him. I even used the line you gave me, asking him if he was curious about me and he took the bait."_

" _I'm sorry." Another rally girl said. "Eric is such a player."_

 _So we were making out and he was telling me how much he liked what I was doing. He was complimenting me like crazy."_

 _Tami knew they must have been speaking about Eric Taylor. She knew he was a playboy and broke hearts often._

" _He asked for a blowjob. He just came right out and asked."_

" _He didn't force you, did he?"_

 _Tami laughed, accidentally letting the sound escape her lips. She knew Eric through Mo and she knew Eric would never force anyone to do anything. The girls all turned and looked at her, annoyed with her presence. "I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you. Eric could be a jerk." She conceded._

 _The girl continued. "I didn't know what to do, but he had this smug look on his face like he just expected it." The girl looked at Tami, afraid to say too much in front of her, but Tami feigned ignorance and the girls continued. "So when I didn't do it, I saw him an hour later taking Laura upstairs. She's his rally girl so I am sure she did it."_

 _Tami knew it was probably true. Eric always turned to Laura when he was out of options and Laura was always there. It was like she reserved herself for him._

 _Tami exited the bathroom having heard enough and there he was. He had his books in his left hand and his right hand was palm flat against the lockers. He had a pretty blonde girl pinned with her back against the cool blue metal. Eric was flirting with her relentlessly and she giggled and touched his chest._

 _Just then the girls bathroom door flew open and the rally girl who was sobbing saw Eric there too. She just ran back into the bathroom._

"You don't remember that?"

"Are you serious? You're asking me to remember something that happened over twenty years ago?"

"You asked me for one example and there it is."

"You're making that up!"

She gave him an incredulous look.

"Okay. Maybe you're not." He couldn't hide from his younger self. "Julie's smarter than that and Matt better watch himself."

At practice the next day Eric rode Smash relentlessly. He just couldn't let the anger go. He was slow and unsure of himself. It just served as a reminder of what he did. Eric didn't have a clue how to put this behind him other than to keep punishing him until he felt he had enough.

When he pulled into the driveway, he saw Tami unloading groceries. He put the car in park, got out and wordlessly grabbed two bags and walked ahead of her into the house. He rarely did that. His father taught him better. "Never walk in front of a lady, Eric. It seems simplistic, but it's so important. It shows her respect and it shows her you care."

So, when Tami followed him into the house, she could sense the anger he was holding on to. "Honey?" She spoke up. "Not for nothing, but you are tied up in knots right now." They crossed into the house and made their way toward the kitchen. "You're wound up like a drum."

"Wound up?"

"Yes you are. And you know what? It's where Smash is getting it." Tami knew him well enough that it was Smash causing the stress.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I think that style filters down."

"Style filters down?" He questioned, putting the bags on the counter.

"Yeah."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I know he made a mistake. I know it really pissed you off. It really pissed me off too. But you know what? He's a boy. He made a mistake and he's trying so desperately to get back in your good graces."

Eric looked away from her. He shook his head, knowing she was right, but not ready to let the anger go.

"It seems to me that you are being so hard…" She clenched her fists, shaking her arms to get her point across to him. "…you're so hard on him that he's losing his confidence. He's losing his passion."

Eric was looking at her now, trying to grasp her point.

"And that's not going to help you one bit on Friday night." She handed him the paper towels. "Put those over there." She continued to unload the groceries. "I think you need to talk to him. I think you need to turn that around." She handed him more stuff. "Put these in the back pantry, please?"

Eric was silenced. Tami got it. Tami understood why he was feeling what he was feeling, but she gave him the ability to see it from a different perspective. He needed to see it from Smash's perspective, even if for a minute.

When he came out of the pantry, he leaned against the counter as she finished putting the groceries away. "Thank you."

"Uh-huh."

"Maybe you're right. I'll talk to him."

"I'm always right." She joked.

"And you're right. I am wound tight." He moved a little closer without touching her. He watched her reach for an upper cabinet, his eyes taking in her smoking hot ass. "Maybe later you can unwind me."

She turned and eyed him up and down. "Seems like I should do something."

"Maybe…" He took it a step further. "…tie you up in knots later." It had been forever since they did anything like that. They used to experiment with all sorts of sexual things after they got married. They were both afraid to let the physical part of their relationship feel routine. But this seemed out of their realm as of late.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Go talk to Smash."

Eric did exactly what Tami suggested and he did feel better. He told Smash that sometimes he forgets why he loves the game so much. He really hates to admit it when he is wrong, but it needed to be done. He needed to forgive Smash.

When he got home a little before dinner, Tami could sense immediately that Eric felt better. She was just about to put dinner on the table when he stopped her. He grabbed her hands, laced his fingers through hers and spoke softly. "Thank you for pointing out my shortcomings in a way that makes me want to be better. I needed to let it go. I needed to forgive him, but I wouldn't have seen it without you. Thank you." He lightly kissed her lips.

"Unwind later?"

He felt guilty about saying this because it was rare, but he was drained, emotionally and exhausted physically. "Can I take a rain check?"

"On sex or tying me up in knots?"

"Both!" He was surprised she brought that up again.

It was Friday morning and Eric had to go to the courthouse and deal with this damn lawsuit. On game day, he had to miss his morning coach's meeting and his planning period. He was sitting on his bed, tying his dress shoes as Tami spoke of her irritation too.

"It's infuriating. I'm furious."

"I know."

"I mean how can the Streets listen to some lawyer who tells them they need to sue us?"

Right in that one statement, Eric knew how much Tami loved him. She loved him because she said "us". He was never alone with this and he loved her for that.

"You know what you're doing, don't ya?"

"I know."

"You're making it worse."

"I'm making it worse." She said. "I know I need to just calm down. I know I just need to be supportive. I want to go with you today."

"No." He answered adamantly.

"Yes. I can have my appointments changed to tomorrow."

"You know what?" He said as he got up, now reaching for his suit jacket. "There are going to be times when I need you over at the courthouse and times when I don't need you. Believe me, today I do not need you. It's only going to be a hearing. If I did need you, I'd let you know, but I love you very much for suggesting it." He leaned it to kiss her. "But thank you."

She cupped his face, leaned in and kissed him again. She couldn't help but feel a bit rejected. Between last night not taking her up on her offer and now this morning, she had a sad look in her eye.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." She was lying but he already had too much on his plate.

"Don't pretend."

She smiled, recognizing how well he knew her. "You surprised me last night."

He knew what she was referring to. He recognized the hurt in her eyes. There weren't many times in their marriage when he turned her down for sex. "I'm sorry. I'm saving it all for tonight. Okay?"

"You know…" She teased. "…I might not be in the mood tonight."

He teased back. "It's Friday. You're always in the mood on Fridays."

She knew he was right. There was something about him on that field, watching him in his element that turned her on. After all these years she chalked it up to his partial dominance, partial intelligence, partial passion, but mainly how good he looked when he concentrated. She pulled herself out of those thoughts of him and remembered where he was going. "Good luck today. I love you."

He arrived at the courthouse a little early and he immediately saw Jason. Eric paced back and forth debating whether he should talk to him or not given the circumstances. Earlier in the week, Buddy told him that Lyla accepted Jason's proposal of marriage. Eric would never admit it to Buddy because Buddy was so upset, but he thought Jason was crazy.

He just explained to Buddy that Jason had a good head on his shoulders, that he would make something of himself regardless of what is physical limits were. Eric did believe that to be true, but he wanted to talk to Jason – the boy that was once like a son to him. Eric remembered when during one of his private training sessions how he spoke to him about Lyla and Eric could see how smitten he was. He just didn't want this kid to make a mistake.

"How you doing?" Eric said as he approached, looking around to see if anyone was looking at the two of them talking.

"Doing fine Coach. How you doing?"

"Good." He said, not really expecting Jason to believe that.

"You know, we're really not supposed to be talking right now."

"Screw the lawyers. This is not about the case." Eric put his hands on his hips ready to give Jason his best lecture. "I heard about you and Lyla." He started, shifting from one foot to another, not making eye contact.

"I know what I want. I don't see why it's such a big deal."

Eric should have expected him to say that. It was a very immature thing to say. "I tell you what – it's not a cure-all." Eric assumed that since the accident things between Jason and Lyla could not have been easy. He turned his eyes to Jason. "It's the biggest damn commitment you are going to be making in your life. Y'all are young. You better make sure. You better make damn sure." Eric knew what he was talking about. Marriage was not easy. He knew this from years and years of perfecting his own with Tami. There were bumps and roadblocks and it hasn't always been happiness and laughter. Marriage was work. Eric knew that you had to work at it to make it flourish. It wasn't easy.

"I am sure." Jason answered. He didn't make eye contact with Coach. He didn't know why he didn't want to face him or the decision he made. Maybe it was because deep down he knew Eric was right. "I am sure. "It's her that maybe is not so sure." Eric studied him and he was suddenly reminded of his relationship with Tami. "Seems like she needs some time to work some stuff out."

Eric wanted to get his point across because he did believe in Jason. He did believe this kid had a bright future ahead of him. "No one is telling you not to get married. What they're saying is just take some time and feel it out." That was it. Eric always felt that less was more and he felt like Jason heard him. He wanted to lighten the mood. "Who knows though? You make your future father-in-law happy, you might be able to squeeze a damn big ass party out of him."

They had a good laugh at Buddy's expense and it was exactly what the two of them needed.

When Jason's parents came in, Eric walked away. He didn't want to piss them off any more than he already had since the lawsuit. As he waited to be called into the conference room, he thought once again of Tami and those conversations they had after his injury.

 _They were engaged in their junior year of college. Eric and Tami were both so sure. They knew what they both wanted. Everything changed after he got injured in mid-November of their senior year. His biggest strength and what the colleges loved about Eric Taylor was his arm. And his arm was shot. One bad tackle and his rotator cuff tore._

 _As a result of his entire future being tossed away, he tossed Tami away too. It took months before he felt worthy of her to even attempt to get her back. It wasn't until he saw her with someone else that he couldn't live without her. The reality that she could be happy with someone else killed him._

 _So after he did solidify their relationship sometime in the spring of their senior year, Tami just assumed the engagement was back on. They were going to pick up where they left off. Eric was not so sure._

" _What do you mean you don't feel comfortable getting married?" She asked, not understanding what he wanted._

" _I just want to make sure."_

" _Make sure what? That I am the one? That you want to get married at all?" She couldn't believe she misinterpreted why he wanted her back in the first place. "Oh, I get it." She laughed at herself. How could she be so stupid? "You just miss the comfort of it all."_

" _No. Don't say that. I missed you. These past few months were horrible for me."_

" _Eric, what's the point of doing this if we are not going to move forward? I can't just sit around and hope that one day you will want to be with me forever."_

" _Don't you get it?" He raised his voice. "How am I supposed to support us? My six figure signing bonus is gone. My millions in the first three years are gone. I don't want to marry you if I can't take care of you. Can you understand that?"_

" _No. I don't, Eric." She softened a bit when she realized it was more about him than it was about her. "Marriage is taking care of each other. We are graduating in two months. We are going to get jobs and work hard and live like normal people."_

" _That's not what we envisioned together and you know it."_

" _I do know it, and you know what? I'm still here. I don't need any of what we envisioned because the only portion I envisioned and deemed important was you."_

 _He wanted and needed to express his concerns. "What if we rush it and you change your mind?"_

" _I'm not going to change my mind. I'm sure. I am very, very sure."_

After the hearing, Eric returned to school for the second half of his day. He was still in his suit when he walked through the main entrance. He didn't normally take that path, but figured he would see Tami to tell her how it went. As he made his way down the hallway, the bell rang and students started to make their way into their classrooms.

He paused his footsteps when he saw Julie at her locker with Matt and she was clearly upset. After overhearing her conversation with Tami earlier in the week, he knew this couldn't be good. He kept his eyes on them, but didn't dare move forward. He wanted to gather as much information as he could without interrupting. He heard Matt say "nothing happened – nothing happened at all."

Why would he hurt his Julie? Then he heard Julie challenge him. "Why'd you lie about it?" Eric could tell Julie was on the verge of crying. Her lips always curved a certain way when she was about to break down. He wanted to rush over to her, but knew he shouldn't. He heard Matt apologize, but then he heard her louder. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I trusted you. I don't appreciate getting lied to." She was crying now, her breath uneven. He heard her mention rally girls and asked him to leave her alone.

As she walked down the hallway, he made himself visible to her, meeting her halfway. There was no one else really in the hallway so he thought it would be okay. He opened his arms to her and she fell into his comforting embrace. He placed a hand on the top of her head, steadying her. "It's okay. It's going to be okay."

He looked up and saw Matt staring at them. He could see Matt was hurt too. Then he was reminded of his conversation with Tami and he couldn't help but wonder how many girls he hurt the exact same way.

 _ **-Please review! Those reviews help me to keep going.**_


	15. Blinders

**Blinders**

 **Season 1 - Episode #15**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **This episode was created by Peter Berg and written so beautifully by Carter Harris, Jason Gavin & Bridget Carpenter. All recognizable dialogue is theirs – all italic flashbacks are mine.**

 **ICanStopAnytime** : I am going to try and slowly introduce how Eric turned himself around to win Tami over. I think at this point I have have taken it too far at this point in one direction so it was have to be a slow and steady build from here.

 **Naguabo:** I always wished Eric witnessed that Matt/Julie argument. I also wish we saw more of that Jason/Eric father/son relationship which I feel like could have ran deeper than the writers let it.

 **Guests** : Thanks for the reviews. I like writing the flirty scenes too.

 **Seth0091** : Thanks for taking the time to review.

 _ **A/N: This race storyline was one of my favorites from season 1. I almost wished they introduced it earlier in the season so they could have dragged in on for longer than 2 episodes, but I still loved it. Also, thinking of incorporating flash-forwards, but not sure if that would work or not. Stay Tuned**_.

"Slot Right 28 Gun-Sling"

"Are you serious?"

"Slot Right 28 Gun-Sling" Eric repeated.

The playoffs. Eric loved to lead this team and making those calls. All the years of not having the opportunity to make final decisions and right now in this moment, he got to do what he wanted.

Eric looked at Mac, who Eric could tell was not so sure about that call. But Eric knew his boys, probably more than they knew themselves.

As his boys took the line, he saw them all smiling. When the score was this spread, he gave his boys the opportunity to have some fun with the talents that God gave them. Eric clenched his fists and watched the play unfold. Just as he thought, when Matt handed off the Riggins and then Riggins to Smash, the defense forgot all about Matt as he sailed toward the goal line. Smash threw a long pass and Matt's hands reached out to catch the ball. Eric made Matt the hero tonight. Eric needed to put his feelings aside and be a coach first when he was on that field.

Julie didn't tell him much of what happened after he comforted her in the hallway. Eric assumed Matt did something to break his little girl's heart. He hated that it was one of his boys that hurt her like that. Tonight, he had to focus. He had to keep his personal stuff off the field. He wanted Matt to still trust him. Julie could not get between their relationship. He couldn't let that happen.

Eric was thrilled with the victory tonight. The Panthers just won their first playoff game. They were officially on the road to State. He knew no one believed in them this season, in the aftermath of what happened to Jason. He wanted his boys to know he believed in them. He was excited to coach them through this journey.

"I want you to be proud of yourselves, and I am damn proud of you."

As Eric went in his office to clean up after the game, the reporters made their way around the lockers for interviews. Eric always liked to go last so he could gather his thoughts. Mac, Crawley and Spidey did the rounds first and Eric usually fed off of them.

Spidey came into his office and relayed a very strange message to him and Eric immediately popped his out of his office. The reporter was undermining the context in which Mac was spoke. Right as he got within ear shot, Eric heard Mac say something that he shouldn't have. "I'm not saying that all white guys…"

"Mac!" Eric stopped him. "I need to talk to you."

"Coach, just a couple more." The reporter pleaded.

"It's getting late." He politely said, but the minute he turned away he couldn't keep the scowl off his face.

When he closed the door to his office, he peeked one last time to make sure the reporters were gone. When his eyes focus back on Mac, he could help but raise his voice in anger. "What the hell was that?"

"What?"

"In there! What the hell were you saying?"

"She was trying to spin my words."

"Come on, Mac. I don't need to have to worry about what you guys say to reporters. Watch your damn mouth next time, aight?"

When Eric walked out of the fieldhouse, the cold air hit him as he slung his bag over his shoulder. When he looked where his car was parked he noticed Tami and Julie waiting for him. Over the past few months, it was rare that Julie was there waiting with Tami. Her presence served as a reminder that Matt did not even deserve to be around his daughter.

The ride home was quiet. Julie was clearly still upset. On a Friday night when she should be celebrating, she was sulking in the backseat, going home with her parents.

Tami studied Eric's features and, although he just won, he looked completely stressed. Tami knew better than to ask him to delve right into it in the car with Julie listening. So she waited until they arrived home and Julie went to her bedroom. He sat on recliner, rubbing his hands over his eyes when she joined him on the adjacent couch.

She stayed silent, giving him the opportunity for him to open up to her. She learned over the years that sometimes if she gave him enough time, we would eventually come to her.

 _Julie was almost three and Eric had a solid bond with her. He felt proud of his relationship with Julie and easily recognized that most fathers did not have what he had. He and Julie were friends. They played together, they joked together and they laughed together. Tami's relationship with Julie was different. Not different in a bad way, but different in the way that Tami offered her more affection, but also more discipline._

 _It was Eric who first brought up having another baby. They always discussed having at least two, but they never really discussed a timeline. Eric just wanted to have another child that he could bond with over time. Maybe a son?_

 _Tami had been off the pill for almost 9 months, but for some reason, she could not get pregnant. They had plenty of sex, but month after month, she continued to get her period. Tami was frustrated. She got pregnant with Julie so quickly. She just assumed this time would be no different. Eric assumed too._

 _The first two months they had fun with the idea that every time they had sex, they were making a baby. It was relaxed and there was no pressure. The next three months, Tami was growing frustrated. Tami decided that they should cut back and only have sex when she was most likely ovulating. Eric complied but he wasn't happy about it. After that didn't work, Tami thought maybe she didn't know her cycles as much as she thought. She read somewhere that if you have sex every other day, you will likely hit one of your three highest ovulating days. So that is what they did for the next two months. They routinely had sex every other day which Eric initially thought was going to be fantastic. Eric did not expect to feel the way he did during that time. He felt a bit used, and the sex was not fun. He wouldn't call it boring, but it was so routine and monotonous._

 _Tami could sense that Eric's patience was starting to wear a bit and she wanted to talk to him about it. She thought about approaching it several different ways, but in the end, she didn't really know how to have that conversation. But eventually, Eric came to her._

" _This is crazy." He said one evening in their bedroom after putting Julie to bed. It was Tuesday and Tuesday was a sex night. Tami started taking off her clothes so they could just get to it. "I don't understand why you are not getting pregnant. Do you think something is wrong?" He asked tentatively._

 _Tami was surprised he brought it up. Even she could admit that having sex with Eric every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and every other Sunday was starting to feel more like a chore than it ever should. "I don't know." She admitted. "Let's give it a few more months to figure it out. We can't really see a specialist until we have been trying for at least a year."_

" _A year?" Eric didn't want to continue like this. "Tami, I love you, but having sex like this is …."_

" _I know."_

"… _It's not us. I don't want this to be us."_

" _I know." She said again._

" _I'm starting to worry."_

 _Eric eventually told her how he was feeling._

When he didn't say anything and they sat in silence, she thought about the game. She wasn't reflecting on the actual football part of the game, but instead on how she loved watching Eric on the sidelines. It was his confidence that always lit her on fire. The way he led that team, his fast thinking, his deep concentration and how hot he looked when he tugged the headphones from his head to his neck when he needed to hear his boys. She suddenly was turned on.

She got up from the couch and walked over to where he was sitting and stood at the foot of the recliner. He raised his eyes to meet hers, sort of questioning what she was doing. She started to kneel in front of him, easing his legs apart to accommodate her slender frame.

Still in his pullover, she raised her hands to his shoulders. She ran them up and down his arms soothingly as her chest rested his stomach and her chin on his chest. She could feel a little stirring beneath his belt against her stomach.

"What are you doing?" He asked, not wanting her stop her comforting, but afraid to continue. "Julie is right down the hall."

Her hands moved from his arms to across his chest. She loved his body and how good it felt at her fingertips. "I was just sitting over there thinking about the game…"

He stretched his neck out so his eyes could meet hers. "You were thinking about the game?" He interrupted.

"…well, I was thinking about you at the game." She said in a sultry voice. "You looked good out there."

"Yeah?" He loved when Tami paid him sexy compliments.

She started to trail her hands a little lower, now by his stomach. "And I was thinking how lucky I am that I am the one who gets to go home with you."

He smiled and rested his head back against the recliner, enjoying her touch. He felt himself growing hard. "I like when you say stuff like that."

"Yeah? What else do you like?" She teased.

He picked his head up off the recliner again, looked at Tami and then looked down the hall to ensure Julie's door was still closed. "You know everything I like. After all the years we have been together, you've perfected it."

"Want to follow me into our bedroom and find out if I have any new tricks up my sleeve?"

Eric chuckled. "You holding out on some things I don't know about?" He asked as he watched her rise off her knees as she stood straight up. She held a hand out to him, which he gladly took as he got up too. He'd follow her to the moon.

"Maybe."

"I like maybe. Maybe is good." He said. Tami walked down the hall and took a look back at Eric. Yeah, the stress was definitely melting away.

The next morning in the car, Tami heard the story on the radio about Mac. Tami watched Eric driving the vehicle to school and the same tense look resurfaced on his features. She knew he was going to have a hell of a day today.

Apparently Tami was going to have a hell of a day too. Ms. Carol, the girls' physical education teacher' informed Tami that Julie had skipped three gym classes last week. Tami was livid. Julie never skipped class. She realized that she was clearly going through something with Matt, but overall, Julie was a rule follower. She was never THAT kid. The kid she and Eric had to monitor. They had an immense amount of trust and faith in Julie, and she was testing the waters.

Tami knew who Tyra Colette was. Before this incident, Tami really had no idea how much time Julie was spending with Tyra, but she was definitely having a negative influence on Julie, clouding her usually sturdy judgment on the simplest of decisions.

"You skipped class?" Tami couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. Julie kept her head down, afraid to look her mother in the eye. Tyra, adjacent to Julie, didn't seem to have a care in the world that she was sitting in that office. "Julie? You skipped class?"

"It was only one time."

"Ms. Carol told me you skipped three classes." Why was Julie lying to her?

"It was just P.E." Julie tried to defend.

Tami took a seat across from Julie, trying to figure out what was going on with her baby girl.

"Look, Ms. Taylor. We're really sorry. We'll never do it again." Tyra interjected.

"Well, Tyra, that really sounds like a hollow apology to me, so you can just save it." Tami should have known this was probably old hat for Tyra, but Tami knew one thing. She was smarter than Tyra. She was smarter than Tyra because she was once exactly like Tyra. She used to be able to talk and charm her way out of everything in high school. "But I am going to tell you what you are going to do. You are going to be in P.E. for every class for the rest of the semester. And in terms of making up the classes that you missed, Ms. Carol made a really good suggestion, which is that both of y'all are going to play in the Powder Puff game. Practices start this afternoon. You will not miss one of them." Tami said coldly.

Julie and Tyra looked at each other and back to Tami. "You have got to be kidding me?" Tyra said with the attitude that Tami recognized as her teenage own.

"You wouldn't do that to me." Julie begged.

"Do I look like I'm kidding y'all?

As Tami dismissed the girls out of her office, she grabbed Julie's arm, stopping her from following Tyra out. "We're not done with this. Your father and I will talk more about this tonight."

"Great." Julie rolled her eyes, expressing sarcasm she knew her mother despised.

She watched Julie walk away from her, afraid of what was next. She thought about talking to Eric immediately, but he was probably dealing with so much more right now. It could wait.

Eric's morning was more than stressful. He was fielding calls all day. The Superintendent was breathing down his neck because of all the calls from TV and radio stations from all over the state. He pulled Mac out of class, needing to put an end to all of this. "You need to issue a public apology." He hated making demands. It wasn't his style. When Mac wasn't receptive, he said what needed to be said. "I'm not making a request." With that, he walked away.

That night after dinner, Tami thought about telling Eric what was going on with Julie, but he looked so stressed. She knew this would fuel the fire of his aggravation. After over 15 years of marriage, Tami was skilled in how to handle her husband.

There were times when Eric needed immediate disclosure to filter out his emotions. He had a strong sense of self-containment which made those moments more often than not. There were less times when Eric was on a need to know basis. She sometimes held information to herself, easing it out in her own mind before knowing exactly how to handle his reactions. Then there were these other times when she knew as a partner in this marriage he needed to know what was going on, but other factors that stretched his patience deciphered that lag in full disclosure. This was one of these times.

The next day after school, Tami checked the football field to make sure that Julie was there for Powder Puff practice. It was the one advantage she had with working in the school. She wasn't sure if Eric's practice would immediately follow, but she knew she had to talk to him tonight in the privacy of their own home.

This thing with Mac was worse than she thought as she just witnessed a very racial fist fight in the hallway. After calling security and dispersing the crowd, she needed to do something to fix this.

She went down to Eric's office, hoping to catch him after practice but before he headed home. She was threading his arms through his pullover as she lightly knocked on the frame of his doorway.

"Honey, I just broke up a fight in the hallway over this whole Mac McGill thing." She said it, expecting some sort of response, but got this instead.

"I don't know what to tell you, babe." He pulled the jacket over his head and adjusted the sleeves.

"Well, I don't know, but it's clear to me that this thing is not going away. I mean, these kids were riled up and it was a lot of kids and it was black against white. It was racial."

"Look babe, he said something stupid. He said something stupid, he made an apology. There is going to be fall out. There's no way around that." Eric just wished this whole thing would go away.

"I feel like I…" She was trying to formulate her thoughts. "I want to have some sort of a dialogue for the kids. Maybe something after school later this week, like a forum or something. "

"Forum?" Eric didn't like the sound of this.

"Yeah. You know, where the kids can come and talk to each other and air it out. So, it's not just coming up with their fists in the middle of the hallway. You know what I mean?"

Eric answered quickly, knowing any hesitation would be taken as uncertainty. "Yeah. It's a good idea." Even though he was very uncertain.

This was so like Tami, he thought, to want to get involved and help. She had this passion that ran so deep that it forced a need within her to make things right, especially when it came to her students. Eric was certain in her abilities, but he was often uncertain with how receptive others would be with her ideas.

"Will you tell your football players about it? I think it would be certainly good for them to come." Of all the students she was worried about, it was Eric's team that really was in the midst of this crossfire.

"Sure." Another short and quick response.

She turned away and started walking out. She held his stare for a bit, wondering what he was thinking. "Appreciate your support. See you later."

Eric watched her leave. "A'ight. Have a good day." Eric was worried. He didn't understand how this could go well and a part of him was worried about her safety. He was worried she could get hurt physically, but also emotionally. He couldn't help it. He was protective of her. He always was.

 _Eric considered Tami a friend. During their junior year of high school, they spent time together, probably more than they should have, considering she was Mo's girlfriend. Eric knew the exact moment when he felt something more. He was always attracted to her, which he could never deny. She had the most beautiful smile and he could remember when he'd first saw that mega-watt smile even though it was directed at Mo. He'd like to say it was her smile that drew him in, but physically, it was everything. She had the most beautiful hair, the most honest eyes and he certainly didn't miss her body. She was perfect. But she was Mo's._

 _He became acquainted with her, mainly through Mo. They were often find themselves at the same parties and Eric always was aware of her presence. In the beginning, Eric just observed. He would just watch her interact with Mo and she never seemed to notice him noticing her. Eric knew how to play the game. He took advantage of what was often thrown his way in the girl department. But he would never forget to glimpse at Tami Hayes._

 _It wasn't until Mo started taking her presence for granted that Tami started to socialize with others when she was out with him. Initially, she and Eric started out by trading insults. She would criticize him for all the girls he would seemingly use and he would tease her about anything under the sun._

 _As the months passed, Eric always seemed to be there when Mo got too drunk, got into a fight, couldn't drive Tami home. They really started to bond during those months. She still criticized his playboy ways and he still teased her mercifully, but a deeper friendship formed over their common interests, their unrelenting parents, their passions and their future goals._

 _Through Eric's eyes, Mo and Tami had less and less in common as, he himself, grew fonder of Tami. Fear was always set in Tami's mind, when thoughts of Eric entered. She never wanted to be with someone like Eric, so superficial and callous when it came to girls._

 _He fought the urge to admit his feelings for her to anyone, including himself. His father once pointed it out, but Eric immediately dismissed the idea. They were at one of his conference games, and as his father made his way down the bleachers to give Eric his typical congratulatory handshake, he followed Eric's eyes to the strawberry blonde girl. "She's pretty, son." He said nonchalantly. "Have any interest?"_

 _Eric replied, quickly. "No." He probably replied a little too quickly. "That's Mo's girlfriend."_

" _Uh-huh." Mr. Taylor said, knowing he never saw Eric look at anyone like that. "Be careful, son. Never cross your teammates, especially over a girl."_

 _Eric's feelings didn't hit him full force until he walked in on Mo getting a blowjob from Mary Elizabeth at some party Tami was not present. In that moment, his heart broke. He knew how hard Tami worked at her relationship with Mo. He knew she consistently tried to be happy envisioning a future with him. It wasn't until recently that she started to admit that maybe he wasn't the one. Those weren't her exact words, but Eric was able to read between the lines. Eric wasn't a fool though. He knew she wasn't admitting that harsh truth because of him._

 _Now Mo did this. It was going to kill her. All of her beautiful confidence was going to be washed away because this jerkoff didn't know how lucky he was._

 _He wanted to protect her. He wanted to avoid her from getting hurt. He couldn't imagine her being played the fool, but how can he be the guy to deliver the truth that would ultimately crush her?_

While Julie was still at Powder Puff practice, Tami waited for Eric to get home so she could tell him what has been going on with his daughter.

Once he had a beer in his hand, she told him about the news Ms. Carroll delivered yesterday.

"So I called Julie and Tyra in my office and I spoke with them both. They are going to make up the grade by doing Powder Puff…"

"That's why she's doing Powder Puff?"

"Yes, that's why. What did you think? She was doing it for you?"

"No." Eric was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that his baby girl was being so undisciplined. "Maybe." He admitted.

"Well, it's not." Tami started pulling out the cutting board and a knife to start dinner prep. "I am furious at her Eric."

"It's not like her." Eric was trying to make sense of it. "Why would she skip P.E. of all things?"

"She's not the athlete you always dreamed she'd be. It's no secret that's not her favorite class. Plus, I'm sure Tyra had a lot to do with it."

"Tyra?"

"You'd know her if you saw her. She's trouble with a capital 'T'. I don't understand why Julie would want to be friends with a girl like her."

Eric thought back to what happened last week, images of Julie crying in his arms in the middle of the hallway. "Maybe she's upset about Matt."

"Eric, it still doesn't excuse her behavior. This is not how our girl behaves."

"I know. I get it. Do you know how bad this makes me look? I teach P.E."

"Not the point, Eric!" She raised her voice. "She needs to be punished. She can't act this way over a boy."

"How stupid is she, though? We work at the school. What did she think? That we weren't going to find out?" He asked.

"I don't know."

"And thinking she could get away with lying to us?"

"I know." Tami repeated. She realized this revelation was new to Eric. Her shock wore off sometime yesterday, when she got a glimpse of Julie's misery during Powder Puff practice.

When Julie walked through the door, Eric's level of anger rose to total utter disappointment. He hadn't sat down since Tami delivered the news. He was watching game tape and continually hitting pause, hitting rewind, hitting play. Tami was going to take a back seat to Eric, having compete faith that he would handle this properly. It was a dance they perfected over time, supporting each other and presenting a united front.

When the heard the click of the door handle, followed by the shutting of the door, Eric turned his attention from the television to Tami, giving her a firm look that he had this.

"Hello?" Tami said in her best annoyed tone that she could muster.

"Hey." Julie called back in a soft, tired voice.

"Hey, honey. How you doing?" Eric's tone indicated he didn't care to hear her response.

"Grand." Julie responded with sarcasm and very little energy.

"How was Powder Puff?" Tami started the conversation.

"It was great."

"Oh, was Powder Puff tiring?" Eric's eyes followed her as she made her way to the couch.

"Where's the flipper?"

"I don't know" Eric said, even though it was in his hands. "Why don't you sit down?"

Julie let a sigh escape her lips in pure annoyance as to what was about to happen. As if she didn't have enough to contend with already, now her father was going to lay into her. Julie immediately thought about Tyra and how her mom wouldn't even care what went on at school.

"Don't!" Eric didn't need the attitude. "Don't roll your eyes." Julie threw herself onto the couch and braced herself as her father continued. "Something else is going to happen other than this Powder Puff thing as a punishment for you cutting class. I promise you your mom and I will let you know what it is when we figure out what it is."

"Yeah. That's understood." She got up. She didn't need this. "And when you figure out what my punishment is, I'll be in my bedroom."

"I don't want you to be flippant with me. I don't want you to be flippant." Who was this kid? Who was this girl who was not even paying attention to what he said. She started to walk toward her bedroom.

"Did you hear what he just said?" Tami interjected. She knew now Eric was getting a good piece of Julie's crappy attitude.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Yes. I heard."

"Can I tell you something? No, no. Look at me." With the remote in his hand, he pointed it at her. "Please, don't do this. Don't break our trust. Don't take our trust from us."

Eric's words carried some weight because Julie looked like she was about to cry.

"Please?" He begged. He knew those words would get to Julie because they always trusted her. She had never given them a reason not to trust her until now.

"I'm sorry. It's just been a really...a really crappy day. Matt's been yelling at me all day, about stupid quarterback stuff." Julie started to retreat down the hallway, as Eric looked at Tami.

Tami should have figured that Eric was right, that her attitude had to do with Matt. Eric's mind went to his second love, after his family. "Matt Saracen has you at quarterback?"

Tami shook her head in disbelief as Eric rushed to turn off the television. "Wait. Honey? Hey!" He called after her and jogged after her. "C'mere. What do you mean he's got you at quarterback?"

Tami chuckled as she continued to dice the salad. He looked ridiculous running after her in his almost too small grey Panthers sweatshirt and blue jeans. She loved the interest he took in Julie, but she knew something else. A part of him always wished he had a son, so Julie playing Powder Puff was going to give him a sliver of that.

He knocked lightly when he reached her bedroom door. "Can I come in?" He remembered the days when she was little and no knock was required. He remembered the days when he was always welcome in her space.

"Sure."

He went in and jumped right into it. "You got a good arm. That's why Matt probably put you there. He's a good judge on the field."

"On the field." Julie said sadly.

"Is that why you're upset? Not about the football stuff, but because of Matt?" Eric thought again of Julie crying in his arms in the hallway and felt like he could kill this kid for making his daughter feel this way.

"I guess. I just don't get it." Julie wanted to say more, but afraid she would reveal too much to her father of all people. She was partially embarrassed, but partially intrigued because he always had a good take on things. "I have been playing it over in my head over and over again and it doesn't make sense."

"Listen, Matt's a good kid. I don't know exactly what happened and if he hurt you, then he doesn't deserve you. Boys can be senseless and sometimes jerks."

"Except you right?"

"Except me. In your eyes anyway."

"Please, mom would have never married a jerk or someone who treated her poorly."

Eric chose his next words carefully, not wanting to reveal too much of his younger self. "I wasn't always the best judge of my own actions Julie, especially when I was in high school. You're mom made me want to be better. You're mom made me want to be a man of better character."

Julie was surprised. She always assumed the courting of her parent's relationship was always one sided. Her dad chased until her mom allowed to be caught. Her mom was always more social, more people were drawn to her charisma and her friendliness. She just figured her dad wasn't much of anything but a guy with his head in the football sand. "Yeah, well I'm pretty sure Mom wouldn't have let it go if there were pictures of you circulating around the school that involved you and rally girls."

Eric thought for a moment back when girls would throw themselves at him and how he had no regard for any of them. "Well, people make mistakes Julie. I knew your mom was never going to be one of those rally girls. I'm sure Matt knows that about you." Tami was an athlete and on the political debate team. As long as he could remember she was fighting for things she believed in. Eric didn't want to go much deeper with this conversation, so he changed the subject. "After dinner, you want to run some plays outside. I think I may know a thing or two about quarterback stuff." He winked.

She cracked a smile. "Sure."

The next day Tami met Eric out by the football field to watch the Powder Puff game. It was nice to see Eric to let some of his stress go and enjoy watching Julie play in the game that he loved. Of course, once a bad call was made on Julie, Eric stared to yell. She was once again reminded to be thankful that Julie was not much of an athlete. Between Eric's passion and Tami's competitiveness, she knew the two of them would be unbearable and quickly labeled "those parents" as Eric's father once was.

"What the hell kind of call was that? Son, you're blind!" Eric yelled at poor Landry.

"Honey!" Tami scolded, trying to bring him back to the world where this was only Powder Puff.

"What?" He asked having no idea what he did wrong.

"Calm down."

"No." He simply said. His daughter was robbed of a completed pass. It was a bad call.

As Landry made his way over to scold Eric, Eric started walking toward him. He wasn't going to start a fight, was he, Tami thought. At that moment Tami was thankful yet again, they have a daughter and not a son.

 _Eric was particularly silent on the drive back from the hospital. They just finished their 20 week ultrasound and decided to find out the sex of the baby. They hadn't talked much about it since the moment Tami told Eric that she was pregnant. Their thoughts were filled with other things? How were they going to do this financially? Weren't they too young to be parents? What happened to their Newlywed phase the both of them were looking forward to?_

 _When they arrived home, Tami took a seat on their worn couch and put her feet up on their nicked up coffee table. Eric went to the kitchen to grab a drink, and pulled a mug for Tami out of the cabinet. "You want a cup of tea?"_

" _Sure." His silence was making her nervous and she was not going to let it fester. The whistle of the kettle cut through the silence and rang loudly in her ear. It was like an alarm going off screaming 'we need to talk about your disappointment'._

 _They were having a girl. The baby was healthy and that was all Tami could have hoped for, but she knew Eric's feelings on the matter were different. Whenever they talked about their future of marriage and kids, Eric would let his mind wander to not only being a father, but being a father to a son. He would talk about how he couldn't wait to teach him the game he loved, how to respect women far better than he ever had and teach him the importance of family._

 _Now, he wouldn't have that chance. When Eric took a seat next to Tami and handed her the cup, he stared into the empty space in front of him. "Please, talk to me." She asked._

 _He smiled weakly. "You feel okay?" He asked._

" _Yeah." She moved the mug to her opposite hand to free to one soothingly rubbing the back of his neck. "You're disappointed." She stated the obvious._

" _Disappointed?" He asked._

" _Yeah. That it's a girl."_

 _He moved away from her so he could set the water glass on the table. He turned to her and cupped her face and brushed his lips against hers. When he pulled back, he took the hot mug out of her hands and set it adjacent to his glass. He turned back to her and placed one hand on her growing belly and the other on her silk soft cheek. "I'm not disappointed." He searched her eyes, begging for her to see what he was about to disclose. "I'm so relieved, Tami."_

" _What?"_

 _He thought about what he was feeling from the moment the news was delivered. He thought about how he felt when Tami was dressing out of that paper gown and into her clothes. He thought about all the glorious things that entered his mind on the drive home. "Relieved. God, Tami I love you, you know that."_

" _I love you too, sugar." She was bracing herself for what was to come next._

" _For the past few months I was thinking about the father that I want to be. I thought about the kind of man your father was and on the opposite spectrum, the father my father was to me. I'm so relieved it's a girl Tami."_

" _Why?"_

 _He took a deep breath and continued to rub her belly. "I don't have to worry about turning into my father. With a son, that was my biggest fear. That my son would never live up to my expectations. I was so afraid that I was going to make my son feel the way my father did for most of my life. And I didn't want that Tami, but I wasn't sure if that was something I was going to be able to control or not. And now, I don't have to worry about it. Now, I get to be the prince to my little girl. I get to be the example of the man she will want in her own life someday. I get to play a part I never knew I always wanted." He kissed her again, this time full of joy and passion. "I'm so happy Tami."_

During her forum the next day after school, Tami could feel her fists clenched around the cuff of her cream colored sweater. It started out somewhat low key, but quickly escalated into something she feared she wouldn't be able to control. One kid interrupted, the next stood up, another spoke louder and another started walking toward another. It was like a snowball effect, with no end in site. She had to put a stop to it. She had to reason with these kids.

Tami had to stay late that day, working with members of the administration to educate them on the problem going on that they seem to want to ignore. Eric was sitting at the kitchen table when she walked through the door.

"Hey babe." He said as he took a swig of his beer.

"Hey." She said in a tone that was low, sad and frustrated. She placed her purse on one of the chairs that accompanied the kitchen bar and made her way into the living room.

Eric knew immediately she was not okay. He got up from the table and hovered over the back of the couch while she dropped her tired body into it. Tami took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself down, but Eric knew could tell she was about to break down. His strong, independent, confident wife was trying to steady her breathing so she could formulate words to speak. Eric waited for her to start. He'd wait for her forever.

"Well, it didn't go very well honey. " She closed her eyes, pressed her lips so tightly together, not wanting to let any sounds escape.

Tami opened her eyes as she started to speak. "I mean first of all hardly anyone showed up. But, then I wish you could have seen the way these kids were yelling at each other, calling each other names. She closed her eyes again, trying not to cry.

"It's real hard to make a change around here." He knew exactly what she meant. They lived in a small Texas town. There were certain things that come along with living in a town like that, that will never change. Eric just needed for her to look at the full circle.

"You know you're an example to aspire to, don't you?" Eric started. "You give them an opportunity to express themselves they wouldn't have otherwise, because you're always there ready to listen to them."

tears were threatening to spill over and Tami could feel her bottom lip quiver. She loved this man so very much at that moment because he knew exactly what she needed him to say.

"You never shy away from the difficult subjects. They know they can trust you." Tami took another deep breath. He believed in her. Eric believed in her and that was all that mattered. "That's a rarity." She finally made eye contact with him, giving him a soft smile of appreciation. "You're my wife and I'm damn proud of you. " He leaned in and kissed her.

Eric hoped what he said matched what how he felt. He hoped Tami understood how much he believed in what he just said. Did she know how much he believed in her? As he held her tightly in his harms, he silently prayed this situation with Mac McGill would be over soon, for both their sakes.

 _ **-Please review. Motivation is easily spurred by those reviews.**_


	16. Black Eyes and Broken Hearts

**Black Eyes and Broken Hearts**

 **Season 1 – Episode 16**

 **To all my reviewers: Thank you for joining me on this journey. I appreciate you taking the few minutes to let me know you are out there on this journey with me.**

 **Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg and written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman. All recognizable dialogue is theirs, all italics are mine.**

 _ **A/N: This chapter got away from me a bit. I wanted to include more details about certain things during the episode, but this chapter was so very long! I do hope you enjoy it!**_

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" Eric asked. Before he knew it, it would be Friday night. He brought his team to the damn playoffs and it was all about to be mean absolutely nothing. How was he going to play this team without sixteen of his players?

He would be lying if he said he wasn't in complete and utter shock when, led by Smash, every player with dark skin refused to practice yesterday.

He sat on the edge of the bed, putting on his shoes as Tami still lay under the covers, the thin sheet covering her bare breasts. As much as he would have loved to pulled that sheet down further, come back to bed and continue their escapades from the prior evening, he had to go. He called an early meeting with his assistant coaches to figure out what the hell they were going to do.

And Tami was no help. She spent the last the ten minutes not offering any words, just listening to him rant and being nothing more than a sexy distraction. She looked so damn good, he thought to himself.

"I can't beg them to come back and play for me. I won't." They were quite clear how they felt the minute they steeped off his field.

As Eric stood up and grabbed his blue pullover from the closet, she sat up, pulling the sheet with her, remaining covered. "They're angry, babe. They didn't know how to express it other than to stick it to team. Right now, this was their best move, even if it wasn't in the best interest of the team."

He threaded his arms through the sleeves and pulled the jacket over his head. "That's just it. The team didn't do anything to them."

"Mac is part of the team."

"I know. He said something stupid. That's all."

He started to walk out, but turned around to face her. "I'll see you later." His eyes moved from her face to her chest. He brought his eyes back to hers as he spoke. "I'll never know why you feel the need to cover up there." He waved his hands at her chest. "You know I just had full access to those with, not only my eyes, about…" He paused to look at his watch, smiled and looked back to her. "…about 7 hours ago."

"It's morning Eric." She said suddenly a little bit shy.

Eric couldn't help but smirk. "Does it really matter what time it is?" He looked again at his watch. "I have to go."

"Good luck." She called after him.

As Eric sat down with his coaches, and Crawley starting naming all the players he would not have the pleasure to work with this week, he looked to Mac. Why would he say something like that? He kept asking himself the same question over and over again.

The only solution Eric had right now was one he really didn't like. "What we're going to do is we're going to dip into the JV." He couldn't give in to demands. He was never that guy.

Once he had them all out on the field, he quickly realized that he had nothing to work with. He was losing his patience. He barked at some poor kid Tyler and then had to yell at Riggins for yelling at those very young boys. It was going to be a long week.

The next morning, he got a call from Crawley telling him to turn on the news. As they waited for Julie to leave for school, he and Tami listened to Smash on local television make threats. Tami stood in the kitchen stealing glances at Eric knowing how much he was holding in. She could tell he was frustrated and he was angry. She knew how much he hated feeling the pressure from others. He put enough of it on himself.

 _It was Eric's junior year of high school and they were headed to State. Tami's mother was allowing her to go to cheer on Mo, but she was under parent supervision. Her friend Danielle was going with her mother and Tami was invited to tag along._

 _They were headed to Austin. Tami was so excited to get away and get to experience what it feels like to have your high school get a shot at winning a state championship. She was excited for Mo too, but more about the entire experience._

 _They checked in to the hotel and Danielle's mother took them out for a late dinner. When they arrived back at the hotel, most of the team was hanging out in the lobby. Bed check wasn't for another hour and Danielle's mom allowed them a little bit of freedom, for that one hour anyway._

 _As soon as Danielle's mother was out of sight, Tami found Mo and they shared an oversized chair in the corner of the lobby. With all their friends around, they talked about what tomorrow was going to bring. All their hopes and dreams were on the line. Everyone seemed a little tense except for Mo. He was being a little bit arrogant and cocky._

 _At first, his confidence was what drew her to him, but over time, little by little she was starting to find that trait more and more annoying. Mo was going on and on about everyone needing to relax. That tomorrow wasn't a big deal. They were going to win, but if they didn't, the exposure was going to be enough to get colleges to notice._

 _The more he talked, the more Tami felt the need to get some fresh air. She removed his wrapped arms, got up off the chair and started to walk away from their circle in the corner. Instead of saying good-bye or asking where she was headed, he called after her. "You going to sneak up to my room later? It'd be good for all of us if you did."_

 _She spun around just as Mo was high-fiving his teammate next to him. "Yeah." She said with her best southern smile. "Make sure you wait up for me." Her voice dripped with sarcasm and it seemed everyone but Mo knew she was pissed._

 _As she made her way toward the front entrance to the hotel, she noticed there were a few people outside. She pushed through the revolving glass door and as soon as she was clear from the whirling sound of the glass, a stern voice coming from the right caused her head to turn._

 _She immediately noticed Eric, a little out of breath but extremely agitated. She could tell. He often bit down on his back teeth and pressed his lips together when he was trying desperately to hold in the anger that should be spilling out of him._

It took years for Tami to convince him it was okay to let it spill out. Nothing bad would happen if he did it in the right ways. She would never run from him, rather feel closer to him if she understood him.

" _How many times?" Eric's father yelled. He took the football and tossed it back at Eric. "How many times am I going to have to tell you the move your feet?" Mr. Taylor was frustrated. "Huh, Eric?"_

 _Eric kept his eyes at the ground, trying to maintain some sense of composure. Tami stayed closer to the entrance of the hotel so Eric wouldn't see her. He was already broken by this man who was being way too hard on him. She didn't want him to be embarrassed by her presence._

" _Look at me when I talk to you, boy!"_

 _When Eric looked up, Tami noticed how weary he looked. "Yes, sir."_

" _Run it again."_

 _Eric took the ball and on his father's cue, words that meant nothing to Tami, he started an imaginary play._

" _Again, Eric." He did the same thing again._

" _Dad, I…"_

" _What? You want to be mediocre? You want to go out there and embarrass yourself? You want to embarrass me? Embarrass your team?"_

 _Tami couldn't believe how much pressure this man was putting on his son, when inside, the rest of the team was just thinking about getting laid. This dynamic was a bit of an eye-opener for Tami. She almost understood why Eric was the way he was when not in the presence of this man who expected way too much._

" _You are better than this Eric. There are going to be a lot of scouts there tomorrow. You need to impress them. You need to be better than what you are showing me right now."_

" _I'm trying." Eric raised his voice a bit to get his point across, but he didn't dare yell. He knew never to cross that line of disrespect._

" _Not hard enough, Eric. If you were trying, really trying, I would be seeing something different right now. Visualize and execute. Everyone is depending on you to get it done. You need to get it done." He handed him the football. "Let's see it again. Five step drop, look off the safeties, move your feet, read the angles and see your options. Don't release too quickly, don't pump fake, and don't try to force it."_

 _Tami watched Eric as his father spoke. She could tell he had enough. He looked confused. She never saw him like that. He always looked determined on the field, like the leader that he normally was. She had no idea this went on behind closed doors._

 _Eric took the ball and started a faux play. She didn't understand why his father threw his head back in frustration and why Eric had stopped. "Damn it, Eric!" He shouted. He started walking away. "Are you stupid? Can you not comprehend what to do?" He started walking back toward Eric and pointed his finger in his face. "You're going to get this right, but I'm not going to stand here and waste my time watching you fuck it up over and over again. Get it right!"_

 _As he father walked away from him, Eric fell to his knees. Tami felt so sorry for him. She knew it wasn't her place, but she wanted to go to him and comfort him. No one should be spoken to like that, especially over football. Where was Laura, Eric's rally girl? Shouldn't she be here to help him?_

 _As Mr. Taylor approached the area where Tami was, by the entrance of the hotel, she quick turned away. She didn't want him to know she witnessed the whole exchange. When she heard the revolving door stop spinning, she dared to turn to see if he was gone. Once confirmed, she slowly walked toward the slumped figure on the grass._

 _Eric felt someone kneel down next to him and knew it was her. It was her perfume that gave her away. She always wore it. He couldn't tell you what it smelt like exactly, except that it smelt like Tami Hayes. His voice cracked a bit when he spoke. "Please, leave me alone."_

 _Tami was startled by the sound of his voice. She never knew this guy who had absolutely no feelings at all when it came to girls would feel such a deep need of approval from a man who treated him in the way she just witnessed. "I think that would be the worst thing right now."_

" _You think you know everything, don't you?" He leaned back and took a seat on the grass, dropping the football between his feet as he folded his arms around his knees._

" _No." She said softly, taking a seat next to him. "I definitely don't know why your father is so hard on you."_

 _Her words confirmed she witnessed his father's harsh words. He could feel himself starting to breakdown, a lump forming in throat, not being able to speak. He took his hands, covered his face and slowly rubbed his eyes._

 _She wasn't sure if he was weary or if he was shielding himself from embarrassment of letting her see him cry. "You know, it's only one football game." She didn't know what possessed her to do this, but she felt the need to soothe him. She raised her right hand and slowly rubbed his back. "It's just a game that, in a year or two from now, no one will care about."_

 _His eyes were red when they met hers. "One person will care. One person, for sure, will go over and over every minute of what happens tomorrow for the rest of my life."_

" _What about you? Are you going to care? Care that much? Because I have to tell you, half the team is not even thinking about the game to the depths that you are."_

" _I want to win." He said defensively._

" _Who doesn't? Everyone wants to win. But at what cost?" She removed her hand from his back, almost feeling like it was a bit inappropriate. They were friends and they spent time together, but they rarely had a conversation like this. "Your father shouldn't talk to you like that."_

" _My father's proud of me. He just doesn't show it in the best of ways. "He picked a blade a grass and was playing with it between his fingers. "He'll feel differently tomorrow."_

" _And you? Are you proud of yourself?" She dared to ask._

" _Not right now, but hopefully tomorrow."_

 _She pulled the blade of grass out of his hand so he would look at her when she spoke. "Eric, you should be very proud of yourself. You took this team here. You created most of this. Don't let your Dad take that away from you."_

" _I just don't want to fail him. I just…." He couldn't admit to her that he was afraid of failing himself._

" _The only person you should be worried about is yourself. If you try your hardest and you leave it all out on the field, then who cares what anyone else thinks?"_

 _He stared into her eyes. He always admired her smile, but he never noticed until this moment how gorgeously honest her eyes were. "You're right. I know you're right."_

" _Well, I'm right most of the time." She cracked a small smile, almost afraid he wouldn't appreciate the joke._

 _He smirked back and looked back down at the football. He felt a bit uncomfortable because, right at that moment, all he wanted to do was kiss her. He looked back into her eyes, trying to read her inner thoughts._

 _Eric had a great smile. She'd often see it on the football field or when he flirted with girls. But that smirk was something different. She wasn't sure if she had ever seen it before, but it was shy, cute and somewhat unassuming. She got lost in his eyes, trying to figure out exactly what shade of green they were. She saw so much of him through his eyes._

 _He leaned in a bit to see if she would lean in too. He sensed she was thinking the same thing he was, all thoughts of Mo pushed far back into some dark corner that didn't matter at that moment._

 _She felt herself lean toward him and when the yellow speckles of his eyes gazed down at her lips and quickly back to her eyes, she felt something inside of her surge._

 _He leaned in a bit more and as desperately as Tami wanted that feeling to continue, she broke their intense eye contact and looked at the ground. "I better go back inside. Danielle's probably wondering what happened to me."_

 _Eric looked down at the ground himself, almost embarrassed to look at her now. Tami lifted herself off the lawn, and started to head back toward the entrance of the hotel._

" _Tami?"_

 _She spun around._

" _Thank you." He wanted to say more than that. He wanted to tell her what he was exactly thanking her for. He was never so vulnerable in front of a girl._

" _Good luck tomorrow, Eric."_

 _And just like that, he remembered that she was Mo's._

Eric didn't want to watch anymore. His players decided to grace him with their presence if he fired Mac McGil? He wasn't going to give in to their demands. He took the remote and clicked off the television. Julie finally joined them in the kitchen, talking on her cell phone.

"Your mom is so cool." Julie said into the phone and that got Tami's attention.

"Who was that?" Tami tried to be nonchalant when she asked although she was totally peeved.

"Tyra."

"Your father and I have been wanting to talk to you about that. We have some concerns about this new relationship you've got going with Tyra. I'm just kind of surprised that's somebody you chose to spend so much time with."

Eric sat there listening to Tami, wondering how she could remain so calm when, he knew how earlier when they had this conversation, she was borderline psychotic.

Julie immediately defended herself. "Okay, first of all you don't even know Tyra. And second of all, if this is about the whole cutting class thing, I mean, you already punished me for that, remember?"

Tami couldn't believe she was answering her back like this. "Oh no. Actually that was your guidance counselor who was trying to help you make up a grade. This is your mother talking who knows for a fact that you never skipped school before you started hanging out with Tyra."

Eric could sense Tami's anger level rising and they both agreed to remain calm while they talked to Julie – try to treat her like an adult. He diverted. "What happened to Lois? Lois? What happened to Lois? She was a nice girl."

Julie's guard went up as she spoke about how wrong they were about her dating Matt Saracen and how they were dictating her friendship with Tyra. "So, maybe you guys should just homeschool me." She said sarcastically.

"Honey, I don't like your tone." Tami said with her best southern smile, a sure sign that she was on the verge of exploding. "I don't like your sarcasm and I really don't know what you see hanging out with this girl." Tami continued, as she listed all of Tyra's faults.

Eric interjected trying to put their point across in a different way. When that didn't work, Julie said something that shocked him. "Do you realize that this is the definition of prejudice? You guys are pre-judging her. And maybe if you weren't so prejudice, sixteen of your players wouldn't have walked off your team."

"Watch your mouth!" Eric didn't need to hear the harsh truth from his fifteen year old daughter.

Julie lifted her bag on her shoulder and headed toward the front door. "Maybe you should think about that next time."

"You know what? Come here a second. Come here a second." He tried to stop her.

"I don't like the way you're talking young lady. You and I are not finished with this conversation." Tami said, as she trailed behind her.

Eric threw his bag in frustration. There were more important things than football, and right now, it was his unruly, pushing the envelope, teenage daughter.

When Eric got into his office, there was a thick manila envelope on his desk. He threw his hat and sunglasses on the surface of the desk and picked it up. It was heavy, the return address was from the boosters and had the name "Mac McGill" on it. This couldn't be good.

When he opened the envelope, he was staring at a decision being made for him. The boosters wanted him to fire Mac. He didn't need them breathing down his neck about this. He wanted to make this decision on his own, and right now, he didn't know what that was. He knew what Mac did was wrong, but he knew what he had in Mac. He could trust Mac.

He needed to talk to Tami. Instead of calling her, her just rushed up the steps toward her office. The door was closed when he approached. He didn't care that she was in a session with someone. He needed her. He knocked and opened the door to find someone sitting there. He needed his wife. His isss issues were way more important.

"I've got a guidance counselor emergency."

"Well, I'm talking to Carrie here. We're just going to finish up here…" Was he kidding right now? If she ever did that to him, he would be livid.

"I've got a guidance counselor emergency." He repeated.

After the student left, Tami was started to say, "What is…"

"Listen to me. Everything hangs in the balance right here. I've got a question and I need some advice from you."

Tami immediately recognized how serious this was. "Alright."

Eric wanted to be clear. "I need to talk to the guidance counselor and not my wife. I need some unbiased, clear, honest advice. Everything hangs in the balance."

"Alright. Sit down. Come on. Sit down."

She took a seat in her chair and Eric sat across from her. He leaned forward as he spoke. "The boosters and Buddy want me to fire Mac McGill. I don't want to fire Mac McGill. He's a damn good coach and Mac McGill is important to me in the playoffs. I thought this was going to end a while ago. I didn't think it would go on as far as it did. I was wrong."

"So what's the question?"

"The question is what do I do about firing Mac McGill?"

Tami asked Eric to review exactly what happened. She wanted to review the exact words and the meaning behind them.

Although he was annoyed because she knew damn well what he said, Eric realized this why he came to Tami. She was so damn good at her job. Eric went through the words that spewed out of Mac's mouth that caused this mess in the first place.

"As a guidance counselor, I have to say that, to me, is a fire-able offense. What he said!"

That was not the answer he wanted from her. "Alright. Let me talk to my wife. Let me talk to the person who cares about me and cares about the team and also has to understand the relevance and importance to our future of us winning the regional."

"There is nothing way more clear to me that your team is way more important than Mac McGill."

He didn't like that answer either. "Is there anyone else I can talk to?"

"You can talk to your friend."

"What does she have to say?"

"This is not about Mac McGill. This is not about the team. This is about you. You have been put in this position where you have to make the decision. If you don't fire him at this point, you are condoning what he said."

"Honey, he said something stupid." He pleaded. "He's not a racist."

"I know, but that is not something for a kids' assistant coach to say, no less for a government employee, which is what he is."

Damn it! Eric wanted her to say something else. Anything else! He got up, feeling worse than when he entered her office. She got up as he opened her office door. "The three of you scare me."

Later that night, Mac rang the Taylor's doorbell. Eric got up to greet him and Tami disappeared to the formal living room in the front of the house. "You want a beer?"

"Sure." They sat down at the kitchen counter and as they sipped their beers, Mac came clean to Eric. He spoke about his love for the Panthers, how he resented Eric for taking the job he once thought was his and how his father was a racist, that maybe that rubbed off on him. "I know that I screwed this up here. I love these boys. I love this team. And I'm not going to do anything to stand in the way of it. I'm not going to do anything to hurt it."

He pulled an envelope out of the front pocket of his plaid shirt and threw it on the table. "I know y'all have a real good chance to go to state…"

"What are you doing?" Eric couldn't believe this man.

"My resignation."

"Oh come on. What the hell are you doing?"

Eric was shocked and, when he woke the next day, that feeling was still resonating. He had to go talk to the press this morning and that was his least favorite part of this job. Dealing with the media was what started this, so he was annoyed to have to play by their rules this morning.

Mac gave him an easy out last night. He just had to take it, but he didn't want to. He really wanted to play by his own damn rules for once. "I know what's easy and I know what's right." He told Tami over coffee. "The guy is giving up 20 years of his life for that program and yet he is willing to sacrifice his ego and half his damn pension. But I still have to do what's right, right? He was asking her to let him off the hook.

"Right." She said sadly. She wasn't going to lie and sugarcoat the situation for him. As they made their way out of the house, she stopped him. "But you are the head coach, and that means you get the final say. You get to do what you want to do. I know that a part of you doesn't want to give in to this standoff a bunch of kids created." She stroked his cheek, and he reveled in the comfort of her touch. "Make the decision that is easier for you to live with."

He thought about Tami's words as he entered the fieldhouse. As he saw the countless reporters' cars, his anger built and he felt more strongly about his decision. When he opened the door to the film room to address the reporters, he was met with yelling questions and flashing cameras. "I'll start talking when y'all stop. First of all, it's a damn shame that we're here this morning. We should be focusing on tomorrow's game. And I'll tell you what? That's exactly what we're going to do because Mac McGill is going to stay on as offensive coordinator of the Dillon Panthers. That's it. Thank you very much."

Later that night, Eric was watching game tape when Julie announced she was going to the movies. With the house to themselves, Tami took a seat on the couch across from him. "You okay?"

He picked up the remote and paused the game tape. He looked at her. "Yes. Thank you. I appreciate you giving me the courage to do what I wanted to do."

"Well, I knew you didn't like what all three of us had to say in my office." She joked.

"Not one agreed with me." He said, not liking when he and Tami weren't on the same page about an issue.

"But how do you feel about it now?" She ventured.

"I feel like I won, Mac didn't lose and I didn't give in to any demands." He kicked in the foot rest of the recliner, stood up and joined her on the couch.

"So the three of us don't scare you anymore?" She smiled and she felt his hand massage lazy circles on her upper back.

He leaned in and kissed her. It started as slow sweet kiss, but Eric quickly deepened it feeling aroused and stimulated by her response. She opened her mouth and let him in, their tongues circling around. She put her hand behind his head, and pulled him toward her and she started to lie down on the couch. He followed her, covering her body with his own. His lips moved from her lips, down to the exposed skin above her breasts. He nipped at her skin as he moved his right hand to cup her breast.

Tami loved the feel of his hands and the hardness of his groin pushing against her heated center. She arched her back pushing back against him, the friction he was giving her was not nearly enough. She found his lips again, cupped his face and sat them both back into a sitting position on the couch.

He looked at her with questioning eyes, but was quickly pleased when she climbed on top of him, straddling his lap, placing a knee on either side of his hips. He moved his hands to the hem of her red cotton shirt and in one swoop, pulled it over her heard. To his disappointment, a pink and white shirt still covered the area he most wanted to kiss. "How many layers do you have on?" He asked with a smirk.

"I couldn't make it easy for you." She joked and she leaned into him, her breasts right in his face. As he kissed what bare skin was exposed, he once again played with the hem of her shirt. In another swoop, he tore it a little more roughly this time over her head. This was his favorite look on her – jeans and a bra. He pulled the cup of her bra lower to reveal her nipple. As he took her breast in his mouth, he used his other hand to reach behind and unhook the clasp of her bra. He quickly fondled her breasts, kneading them simultaneously.

She rocked her body back and forth atop him, but wanted to feel his skin. She started with his shirt, unbuttoning one button at a time. He pulled back from her lips so he could watch her hands work. As the material hung open, she caressed his bare chest moving her hands quickly to the button of his jeans. She popped the button open and lowered his zipper. As he swelled out of his pants, she reluctantly removed herself completely from his lap so she could rid herself of her own jeans. Eric lifted himself off the couch just enough to lower his jeans and boxers to fully reveal himself to her.

She left her panties on as she straddled him once again, feeling him trying to push into her. She kissed him hard but he was the one to pull back. "Why did you leave these on?" He asked as he hooked a finger through the lacy material.

"You have to work a little, Eric."

He left the elastic go, flicking against her skin. He dipped his hand in from the top and sought her most intimate of areas with his pointer and middle fingers. She gasped at the pleasure, grabbing his head to press it against her chest. It wasn't enough. She needed more.

"Please." She begged.

"You're the one calling the shots." He said referring to the fact that she was on top of him.

She pulled back and lifted her groin off of his and he roughly pulled her garment to the side, allowing her access. She lowered herself on to him and waited for him to fill her completely. "You feel so damn good, Tami." Eric managed to get out.

Just as she started to move on top of him, the shrill ring of the phone shrieked through their ears. Tami stopped for a second, becoming distracted, but Eric tried get gain her full attention. "Ignore it. Don't stop."

The ringing stopped and no one left a message. Eric pulled her head toward him, kissing her desperately.

The phone rang again.

"I need to get it." Tami insisted. Eric leaned forward, placing one hand on Tami's bare back and the other out to the end table to grab the cordless phone. He was still inside her, wanting to get rid of whoever was interrupting them.

"Hello." Eric said breathlessly.

Tami listened to the one-sided conversation. "This is he." He let go of her and sat back, his eyes going from clouded with desire to clouded with confusion. "She's was where?" Tami could see something was wrong. She felt him going limp inside her, a feeling she was only used after a powerful release. Something was definitely wrong. "She's with you now?" Tami figured this was about Julie, otherwise he would have hung up. "Yes, sir. We'll be right down."

As Eric clicked the off button on the phone, Tami quizzically searched his eyes. Eric rubbed his eyes, as he spoke. "Your daughter is at the police station. She managed to get herself picked up by the police from the Landing Strip."

"What?" Tami exclaimed, jumping off Eric in a complete panic. She started picking up her clothes and throwing on piece by piece as she asked a million questions, knowing damn well Eric didn't have the answers. "What the hell would she be doing there? Wasn't she supposed to be going to the movies? Who the hell was she with?"

Eric was quickly getting dressed himself. "I don't know, but I want to get down there and find out."

When they pulled into the police station parking lot, Eric parked the car and was about to turn the key in the ignition and get out. Tami put a hand on top of his hand. "Wait."

"What? Why?"

Tami nodded toward the front door of the police station. Eric's eyes followed hers as he watched Matt and Lance leaving with a male adult who Eric had to assume was Lance's father. Eric's eyes followed Matt, wondering what the hell was this kid thinking taking his daughter to a shithole like that. Eric was going to have to have a talk with Matt about what his expectations were of him when it came to dating his daughter, if they were still dating. He couldn't keep up anymore.

After about another three or four minutes, Tami noticed Tyra coming out of the police station. She was rolling her eyes at the young adult who was scantily dressed, not paying attention to a word she was saying.

Eric and Tami stared straight ahead not sure of how to handle what they were about to deal with. "How long are we going to sit out here?" Eric said, breaking the silence.

Tami's eyes were wide with shock. "A little bit longer."

"All the other parents picked up their perps, why can't we pick up ours"

"Because I would like our perp to sit in there and think for a minute about what she's doing sitting in there." Tami gave him a look of annoyance. She was so angry at Julie right now, she felt like she could have left her in there overnight. Eric was always too soft of her.

Eventually they signed her out, and after travelling home in a very quiet care ride, Julie was the one to break the silence first as they entered into their home. "Look, anytime you guys want to say something, that would be great."

"Oh really? Is that the way you want to start the conversation?" Tami struck back at her. Eric took a seat at the kitchen counter, as Tami tore off her coat and followed Julie into the living room. "Do you really want to know what I have to say? You're grounded for starters."

"Fine." Julie snapped back. "Whatever."

"Fine? Whatever? What the hell were you doing at a strip club, Julie?"

"We were waiting for Mindy."

"You were waiting for Mindy?" Tami asked, as if that was an excusable reason.

"Tyra's sister."

"Tyra's sister!" Tami should not have been surprised.

"She works there."

"Of course its Tyra's sister. Of course, she works there."

"You are so totally judgmental about anything to do with Tyra."

"Yeah. You know what? I am judgmental. I am judgmental about a woman who takes her clothes off for a living and as a result, my daughter is not allowed to hang out in strip clubs." Tami couldn't even believe these words were coming out of her own mouth. Eric wanted to say something, but admittedly, he was so surprised by Julie's behavior and Tami was riled up enough for the two of them.

Julie raised her voice. "We weren't hanging out at the strip club. Tyra had to go get money…."

"Tyra had to go get money?" Tami yelled. She finally turned to Eric because Julie's excuses were making her sick. "Honey, do you have anything to say about this situation?"

Eric wanted to yell at Julie too, but he needed to remain calm. He needed to let her know it was okay to call them for help if she ever needed it. He owed her that courtesy. The courtesy his own father never granted him.

 _It was spring of their senior year of high school. Tami and Mo had broken up a few months before, but because of their mutual friends, they often found themselves in the same social circle. Tami was working on that mild March evening when she got a phone call from Danielle. "The cops just raided the party." Tami could hear the desperation in her voice. "They're not taking anyone in to the station, but they are also not letting anyone leave without a sober driver. Can you come pick me up?"_

 _Tami was getting off in twenty minutes and when she did, she drove over to the address Danielle gave her. She saw the police cars with their flashing lights waiting for the crowd to disperse. Only in west Texas would a bunch of teenagers not get arrested for underage drinking – probably because they shared a common bond – state rings._

 _As Tami made her way over to the officers, giving them Danielle's name, she noticed two things. The first was Mo being obnoxiously drunk, trying to high-five the officers as he was escorted by that slut Mary Elizabeth to her car. Of course, he called her. The second thing she saw was Eric sitting on the steps of the house, looking a bit nervous and a bit buzzed._

 _Most of his friends had to call their parents to come and get them via instruction from the on duty officers. There was no way he was going to call his father._

 _As Danielle made her way over, Tami asked where Laura was, wondering how Eric was going to get home. "She was wasted. Her parents were one the first here."_

" _Hang on a second." She told Danielle. She walked tentatively to where Eric was standing. "You need a ride?"_

" _I'll find a ride." He slurred._

" _Not from your father I hope?" Tami wanted to take it back the moment she said it. Eric looked at her quizzically and then he remembered what she must have been thinking. She only knew his father as the lunatic he was the night before State a few months back._

" _He's going to kick my ass."_

" _Did you call him yet?"_

" _No."_

" _How you planning on getting home?" She asked, smiling at how ridiculous this conversation was, realizing he probably had a lot to drink._

" _I'm weighing my options." She said, a cocky smile on his face. This was the Eric she mostly knew. The confident, smooth talking playboy that she often feared._

 _Tami looked around as the crowd started to thin. "Looks like your running out of options. Last time I'm going to ask. You want a ride or are you going to call your father?"_

" _You sure?" He said as he started getting up off the stairs._

 _She didn't answer him, turned around and started to walk to her car. She wasn't sure if he was still following until he heard one of the officers shout in her direction. "Hey Taylor! A night like this is not worth losing that full ride you landed yourself. Keep yourself out of trouble."_

" _Yes, sir." Eric called back. He opened the back passenger door as Danielle occupied the front._

 _Once Tami pulled away from the scene, Danielle turned to Eric. "Who the hell called the cops?"_

" _No idea."_

" _You're father going to freak?" Danielle asked._

 _Eric looked at Tami, searching her eyes through the rearview mirror. He couldn't help but wonder how much she told her friend about that night at the hotel a few months ago. "Not if he doesn't find out."_

 _Danielle turned back to Tami. "Mo was there. I saw he hooked up with Laura."_

" _Oh." It was all Tami could muster. This time she searched for Eric eyes through the mirror, feeling sorry for him because, after all, that was his rally girl._

 _Danielle noticed Tami's look of worry and put the pieces together. "Oh shit. Sorry Eric." Then she thought about the type of guy Eric was. "Should I be sorry?"_

 _Eric laughed a bit, feeling the effects of the alcohol swirl through his system. "No. Laura is free to do whatever and whoever she wants."_

" _It doesn't bother you?" Danielle continued._

" _It would be bothersome if I really, deeply cared about her." He said looking right at Tami again. He knew it must have hurt her feelings as Mo constantly threw his conquests in her face._

" _Are you even capable of really, deeply caring about anyone, Eric? Come on." Danielle teased._

" _I think so." He caught Tami's eyes again. "Eventually."_

 _Tami dropped Danielle off first and circled back down the block toward Eric's house. Now with Eric in the front seat, Tami suddenly felt a little nervous. Alcohol fueled his next words. "He didn't deserve you." He dared to look at her, hoping she would understand and he wouldn't have to explain it further._

" _I don't care."_

" _You have to care a little bit. You guys were together forever."_

" _Not forever."_

" _Okay. For a really long time." He looked straight ahead. "It wasn't fair what he did to you."_

" _Well, I've learned my lesson. I will never trust so easily again."_

" _Is that really the lesson?" When she tossed him a dirty look, he explained. "Shouldn't the lesson be that you are better off without him? That you deserve someone better?"_

 _She didn't say anything, but couldn't help but think he was flirting with her a bit. She was aware since that night at the hotel that they had more and more of these conversations. She had her guard up though. She didn't think Eric was much nobler of as guy than Mo was._

 _She changed the subject as she grew closer to his house. With Danielle out of the car, she spoke a little bit more freely. "Are you sure you are going to be okay? Your dad is not going to do something irrational right?"_

" _No." He appreciated her concern. "My dad won't care about the drinking. He'll care more about my scholarship if I got arrested."_

" _But you still wouldn't call him?" She questioned._

" _No. He wouldn't have been happy if I did. He wouldn't take too kindly to having to come get me."_

He never wanted Julie to feel the way he did – like she couldn't call them. He needed to play the ying to Tami's yang. "Yeah." Eric said as calmly as he could. "First of all, it's important that you're okay. Second of all…"

"She's not okay!" Tami yelled at him. "She just spent the entire evening watching Mindy make an honest living."

There was no getting through to Tami and Eric couldn't help but yell. "Alright then! You talk to her." He was angry with Julie and yelling at Tami was not fair.

"She's not okay, Eric."

"I told you what happened and we weren't hanging out at the strip club, but you're too busy looking down from your ivory tower…"

"You want to see what it looks like from my ivory tower? From my ivory tower girl, you're not hanging out with Tyra Collette anymore."

"You can't punish me like that!"

"That is not a punishment. That is a rule."

"Whatever. Goodnight." Julie turned and walked away.

"Whatever?" She watched Julie walk away and then turned to Eric. "Nice input."

Tami walked away too and Eric was sitting there wondering what the hell just happened. He waited a few minutes to give Tami some time to cool down. When he came into their bedroom about 10 minutes later, he found her at their bathroom sink.

"You a'ight?"

She spit, rinsed and turned off the water. "I'm livid, Eric."

"I know. This is not like her."

"It's not just the behavior. It's everything. It's her attitude and the way that she has been talking to me." She wiped her hands on the towel and started pulling the covers back so she could get into bed. "I feel like we are going to look back at this moment and we are going to pinpoint that this was the start of her spiral."

"No. She's just testing the waters. Tami, we did all sorts of stupid stuff when we were kids." Eric went to the sink himself and started his night time routine. He unbuttoned his shirt and stripped himself of his jeans. He started to brush his teeth in his boxers and white undershirt.

"My mother would have killed me if she found out I was at a strip club. Come on, Eric." Tami roughly situated her pillows, taking her frustration out on the 400 thread cotton sheets.

"I know, but let me say this. She called us."

"She had no choice."

"She always has a choice." He argued. "My father scared me into thinking calling him was never an option. Your mother set fear into your mind at an early age and you never were able to communicate with her because of it."

Tami seemed to soften. "I want her to talk to me. Why can't she see what I see?"

"Because she's fifteen. She needs to make mistakes. She needs to learn from them." He thought about Julie but then his mind drifted to tomorrow. "Hell, I'm still making mistakes. I need to figure out how to win a game tomorrow without some of my best players. Maybe it was a mistake to keep Mac on." He undid his watch and placed it on the night stand before joining her under the covers. He laid on his back, his hands folded behind his head, staring for the answers on the ceiling.

She saw confusion in his stare and forgot about Julie for a moment. She rolled onto her side, and placed a comforting hand over his heart. "You did what felt right in there. There's no better guide to follow."

He placed one hand on top of hers. "And Julie?" He asked cautiously.

"She's punished until I figure out how to handle this."

"Yeah, well I'm going to talk to Matt."

"What? Why?" Tami knew Matt was the unlikely source of the trouble Julie was in tonight.

"I'm not sure what's going on with those two, but I find it interesting that he came out of that police station tonight too. So if he's involved with her being there, then…."

"He's not involved." Tami interrupted. "Eric, you think Julie is this little innocent girl who is easily corrupted by boys, but she is to blame for putting herself in that situation."

"Well, I'm still going to talk to him."

The next day as his team loaded the bus, he and Tami were briefly discussing Julie's boundaries for the next couple of days. After they were saying their goodbyes, Tami noticed the sixteen players Eric desperately needed, walking toward the bus.

Eric knew what their presence meant. Eric knew the weight that it held. He also knew they had a damn good chance of advancing and becoming one step closer to State.

The game was brutal. The opposing team played dirty and refs were not calling one penalty in favor of the Panthers. Then things quickly got out of hand when Tim started a fist fight on the field. Both benches cleared and a war broke out on the field. Tami watched Eric sprint toward his players trying to break it up. As worried as she was for Eric, it amazed her that with all the turmoil going on, the Panthers united.

The game was called. They won. They won, but at what cost? Eric was furious. "This is not who we are!" He yelled at his boys. "This is not what we represent. I don't teach that crap! These coaches don't teach that crap!" Eric felt that he was better than what happened out there. "Y'all are going to take responsibility for your actions, I guarantee it!" He was going to kill them at practice on Monday.

Eric wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. He loaded the team on the bus, making their way through a fierce crowd. He texted Tami to make sure they got out of there safely. Once confirmed, he loaded onto the bus as well.

After a quick threat from the local police, which not only Mac handled, but restored Smash's faith in him, they made their way back to their field house. Eric got off the bus and immediately sought out Tami, who was waiting for him. He wrapped his arms around her securing her safety in his arms.

"Congrats Coach." She whispered. "Are you okay?" She was so worried about him exiting the game.

"I'm fine." He whispered. "You know you don't have to worry about me." He looked back at her smiled. "It's my job to worry about you."

He leaned in and kissed her briefly, but when he pulled back, his eyes were focused on something behind her.

"What?" Tami knew better than to turn her head. She had learned enough social graces over time of being in the spotlight to not draw attention to something.

"I'm going to talk to that boy." Eric's words told her it was safe to follow his eyes. She found Julie and Matt in a tight embrace, as she felt the arms comforting her loosen a bit.

"Eric, maybe…"

"Two seconds." He quickly replied. He didn't want her to talk reason or sense to him.

As he slowly walked over, Julie caught his eyes and pulled away from Matt. Matt turned to see Coach's eyes, which spoke of distance and frustration, mixed with a bit of anger.

"Go wait with your mother in the car. I'll be there in a second."

When Julie didn't move, Eric felt that his baby girl was choosing Matt over him and suddenly something started to hurt. He thought it might be his pride. "If you forgot, you're punished. Please, join your mother at the car."

She looked at Matt, waiting for him to respond, but his eyes were locked on the only father figure he had known. As Julie started to walk away, Matt was a bit confused. "Sir?" He asked tentatively. The Panthers just won. He didn't get involved in any of the fighting. What had he done?

Eric put his hands on his hips, looked around at his surroundings before he spoke. He didn't want anyone in this community to know the inner workings of his family. He took a long, hard look at Matt before he started and Matt, looked at the ground, fearing his words.

"Look at me." Eric said, and as Matt looked at him, he could see the terror. He didn't want that. He just wanted to get his point across. "I'm not sure what is going on with you and Julie, but I do know one thing. If you are going to be a part of my daughter's life, I expect more from you."

"Yes, sir." Matt really wasn't sure what he was exactly agreeing to, but he knew enough to show the respect that Coach deserved.

"I don't want my daughter in places like she was the other night. I certainly don't want to ever have to pick her up from the police station again. To see you walk out of there…" He took a deep breath trying to remain steady when he spoke. "To know she was in that kind of place with you? That really pisses me off."

"Sir, I didn't take her there." Matt started. He quickly stopped when Coach gave him a death stare.

"Not your turn, Saracen." Eric thought about how to word this part next, giving him the guidance he so desperately needed. "I say this as your coach and not as Julie's father. If you like her and want to keep dating her, treat her with protectiveness for her well-being. And if you don't, please let her go."

"Yes, sir."

"As her father, I'm only going to say this once. Don't ever let me find her there again with you in tow. I mean it. You will not be allowed to see her again. Do you understand me?"

Matt nodded and Eric felt he got his point across. Eric patted him on the back before he walked away. "Good game tonight. See you at practice on Monday."

 _ **Please review. I love hearing your thoughts!**_


	17. I Think We Should Have Sex

**I Think We Should Have Sex**

 **Season 1 – Episode #17**

 **Disclaimer: This episode was created by Peter Berg and written by Elizabeth Heldens and Jason Gavin. All recognizable is theirs and italic flashbacks are mine.**

 **ICanStopAnytime:** I appreciate your reviews so much because I have so much respect for your writing. I thank you for pinpointing exactly what you like about the chapter and then I know what to do more of.

 **Naguabo:** The flashbacks are my favorite part of writing this fiction. I do think because I like to write original works more than I like filling in pieces. After I finish filling in the season one gaps, maybe I will start something original. I am open to ideas.

 **Guests Reviewers:** Thank you for taking the time to post a review. I really appreciate it. Matt and Eric scenes are of my favorite to write so I am glad you like that. I wish the writers would have given us more of that.

 _ **A/N: I apologize for letting so much time pass from my last post. Writing is time consuming and with the holidays and New Year, I was swamped and didn't get to do it as often as I like. I do hope the length makes up for it. Also, Liz Heldens who wrote this episode also wrote Wind Sprints and Nevermind which were of my favorites of Season One. I really like her writing and her dialogue.**_

Tami was content. It didn't take much to make her happy. She always thought of herself as pretty low maintenance when it came to her wants and needs as a wife. She knew how deep her husband's feelings for her ran. His loyalty and faithfulness secured her soul like a warm blanket during the cool winter months. She didn't need much from Eric in the way of presents and gifts. She had his trust and his commitment to their marriage. She didn't need much more than that.

Tami was content. A warm fire lit in their living room, a good book, a better glass of Chardonnay and her husband's arm draped over left shoulder. That was all she craved after dealing with hormonal teenagers all day. Her back pressed against Eric's hard chest was a place of comfort for her as they lay on the couch.

Eric's right hand held the remote and he continually searched forward and back repeatedly. Tami kept her eyes on her book, a self-help novel on how to better understand those hormonal teenagers. Eric's left hand moved to her shoulder and he started to massage it. Yes, this was definitely her happy place.

She continued to read and Eric continued to push buttons with his right hand as his left slowly, but deliberately, trailed from her shoulder down her arm. She felt a familiar tingling from within, but continued to concentrate on the page in front of her, re-reading the same line for the third time.

As he moved his hand from her arm to her abdomen, she felt the need to stop what she figured he was trying to start. She kept her eyes on that same line, feigning literary indulgence, covering his hand with her own, lacing their fingers and controlling his movements.

She sensed that he didn't take his eyes off the screen in front of them, but like her, was only focused on his hands. A few more minutes of clicking and three quarters of a page later, Tami let go his hand so she could turn the page. As she did, Eric immediately moved his hand to her breast. He gently squeezed as she reached for his and moved it away.

She turned the page, laced her fingers back through his and continued to read.

Fast forward.

Rewind.

Repeat.

She felt him turn his face away from the television, his soft lips touching upon her neck. He moved his lips upward to her ear. He kissed her lobe and whispered at the same time. "I love you."

She shifted away from him, once again pretending like she wasn't reading the same line over and over. "I love you too, babe." She said it nonchalantly, and without much feeling. There were several different ways those words flowed from her lips. They flowed as a routine when she said goodbye on the phone or goodnight when she would retire early to bed. They flowed with deep meaning, when she truly needed him to hear her, to make him understand how much she deeply loved him. They also flowed with passion, in a way where only he understood how much she wanted him and needed him.

Eric dropped the remote on the floor and freed his right hand to give a whirl to her other breast. Tami quickly dropped the book, and now grabbed that hand. She stopped his movements as she spoke. "What are you doing?"

With his lips close to her ear, he murmured, "I want you." He pushed his groin against the small of her back, letting her now just how much. "I want to make love to my wife."

"You are so damn persistent." A hint of annoyance sounded in her voice.

He continued to kiss her neck, but she held his hands at bay. "I thought you liked it when I was persistent?"

"I do." She said, removing herself from his embrace, and getting up from the couch. "Your persistence is what I fell in love with in the first place, but sometimes persistence doesn't pay off." She looked at her watch. "Especially when I have to pick up our daughter in ten minutes from Matt's house."

-

Tami lightly honked as she waiting for Julie to come out of the house. She thought about how much time Julie was spending with Matt lately, and felt herself smiling a bit as she reflected back on the days where excitement flowed whenever you saw that person you were newly dating and slowly discovering.

She liked Matt. He was responsible and he was kind. He cared deeply for his grandmother and provided for her. A mother wants her daughter to be treated well and she could see that Matt has those capabilities and characteristics. She watched as he opened the door for Julie and she smiled. She liked that he did things like that for her, considering no man had been there to teach him that. She knew as tough as Eric's father was, Eric was the man he was because of him. Eric's father was a gentleman and, in turn, so was Eric.

When Julie got in the car, she was silent. Tami noticed how happy Julie had been since she and Matt got back together after a brief break up of sorts. "How was your night?" She tried to start a conversation.

"Good. We studied vocabulary."

Tami wasn't stupid. She knew that wasn't all they did. She recalled her study dates with Mo and how little studying they actually did. The difference was that Mo's parents were never home and Matt's grandmother rarely left their home. "Things okay?" She simply asked. "It seems like things are better with you and Matt."

"Yeah. They're better."

"Good." Tami didn't know what else to say so she just dropped it. On the rest of the drive home, she thought about how she was going to talk to Julie about her new relationship. She didn't want to force her to open up, but she also didn't want her to be afraid to talk to her either. Tami never spoke to her mother about sex because, frankly, Tami was petrified to have that conversation. Plus, her mother avoided the idea that Tami was interested in sex until she got engaged to Eric.

" _Now that you are going to be a wife, I do have to talk to you about something very important Tami." They were out to lunch after tirelessly searching for the perfect wedding dress._

 _Tami never thought at this point in her life, her mother would attempt to have this conversation. "Mom, I'm not sure you are going to have to tell me…." Tami tried to stop her, but it was too late._

" _Listen up." Tami's mother rearranged her utensils, studying them before looking up and holding Tami's almost alarmed eyes. "Men have needs, and sometimes their needs will not match your own."_

" _Oh God." It was all Tami could muster, wanting to hide like a small child under her chair._

" _I'm serious." Tami's mother was growing impatient, offended that her own daughter didn't think she knew what she was talking about. "I have been married to your father for twenty three years. Trust me, I know what I am talking about." Tami thought she was going to throw up as thoughts of her parents being sexually active made her stomach queasy. "This is the only piece of advice I am going to give you. Men need sex more than women. It's a known truth." Tami didn't necessarily agree with that because she always wanted to have sex with Eric. Their love making was always passionate and mind-blowing. She couldn't imagine, when she was forced to imagine, that her parents were like that. She figured it was routine and monotone and boring. "And even when life gets busy, because it will throughout your marriage, make time for it. During the week, it is all about him. Give him whatever it is that he needs. Men are simplistic." Her mother leaned in and lowered her voice, and Tami was not prepared at all for what was going to come out next. "But Tami, remember, on the weekends, it's all about you. And don't let him forget it."_

 _Tami wanted to die a slow death of utter embarrassment._

She never wanted Julie to feel like that. She didn't want Julie to think she was completely clueless as she thought her mother was up until that conversation. She wanted Julie to come to her and ask her questions and not be embarrassed by her feelings.

After the silent car ride home, Eric was still in the same position on the couch, his erection completely gone from earlier. Tami checked as Julie trailed behind her.

"Hey, Monkey Noodle."

"Hey, Dad."

"C'mere. Come sit with your old man for second before you retreat to your bedroom and I don't see you for the rest of the night."

Julie plopped down next to him and put her legs up on the coffee table. Eric paused the game tape and turned to face her. "How was Matt's?"

"It was fine." Julie wondered if her father expected her to talk about the inner workings of her relationship with her new boyfriend. She thought he had to be dreaming if he had those expectations.

"Good. Did he say anything about the game?" Eric wondered how much information Julie could provide now that she was dating his quarterback. "The guys giving him a hard time for not getting into the fight?" They were lucky they called that game and that the Panthers advanced further through the playoffs.

Julie moved her legs off the coffee table and started to get up. "No, Dad. Surprisingly enough, Matt and I don't talk about football." Julie started walking down the hall and away from her nosy father.

"If y'all don't talk about football, what do you talk about?" He called after her.

Tami chuckled from the kitchen and walked over to the couch, taking Julie's seat that she just vacated. She leaned in and kissed him. "The last thing they do together is talk about you and football."

Eric wore a confused look, and Tami just smiled. She leaned in and kissed him briefly again. "Julie has dance tomorrow, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. Six to Eight. Why?"

"Because tomorrow, we are going to finish what you so abruptly stopped before."

She thought back to her mother's words, remembering his needs and not forgetting her own. "Promise?"

-

Eric sometimes showered at school. It was easier than waiting to get home. He knew his wife and he knew she was more likely to be attracted to a clean, freshly showered Eric than a dirt-ridden, sweaty Eric. As he dressed in his office, his phone rang.

"It's Buddy."

"Hey Buddy." He cradled the phone between his ear and his neck as he gathered his wallet and keys off his desk. "I'm about to get out of here."

"Come grab a beer with me. Dinner and a beer. I'll meet you at Applebee's."

"I'm about to go home and have dinner with Tami." That wasn't entirely true. He just wanted to get home to have Tami in any way she would let him.

"Eric, I'm asking for a favor. I need to have a drink and talk to someone I can trust. Can you meet in twenty minutes?"

"You serious?" Eric couldn't believe he was going to have to cancel on Tami.

"Thanks Eric. See you in twenty."

Eric didn't hang up the receiver. He just pushed the lever down where the receiver usually rests, took a deep breath and dialed his home number.

"You on your way? Julie should be home in about an hour and a half." She said seductively.

"I can't believe I am going to say this, but I have to choose Buddy over you tonight."

"Buddy Garrity?"

"I know. I know." Eric moved a hand from his hip and ran his fingers through his hair, a motion he only did when he was extremely frustrated. "I'm sorry. He just called and asked me for a favor to come meet him. He said needs to talk to me. I'm not sure what it's about." When silence met his ears, he started to regret his decision to say yes to Buddy. For a few seconds, he started to question his commitment, feeling Tami's disappointment.

"Okay."

"Okay? That's it? That's all you're going to say?" He rested his hand on his hip again, and gaining control of the receiver.

"What do you want me to say? That I'm mad? I won't give you the satisfaction."

He smiled, feeling a bit of relief. "I love you, you know that?"

"I know that. You know what else I know?" She teased.

He smirked. "What's that?"

"I know that sometimes, at night when the house is quiet, I don't need you at all. I have a well-trained hand, Eric."

"Oh God." He took a sharp breath. "Don't do that. Don't say that as I am about to meet Buddy for dinner."

"Why?" She loved playing this teasing game. "I want to make sure you don't forget about me when I am all alone in our bed."

"That image is pretty unforgettable." He went out on a limb. "Any chance you think you can wait for me to get home?"

She gave him a very non-committal response.

-

Tami hung up the phone and decided that since Eric was going out, she would run some errands herself. As she drove to the grocery store, she made a mental list of what she needed at home. As disappointed as she was in Eric at this moment, she couldn't dismiss the fact that he did most of their family grocery shopping. Tami roamed the aisles a bit out of touch with where everything was. She came across the tall, plastic, vertical carousel that housed an array of sunglasses. She lost her focus, her list of items completely forgotten as she started trying on pair after pair of sunglasses. As she went took off her third or fourth pair, she felt her eyes widen as she took in the image down the aisle from her. There stood the boy she was just praising the evening before in front of the wall of condoms with another teenage boy.

Thoughts started to swirl in her mind.

Were he and Julie having sex?

Did Matt talk to his friends about it?

Did Matt respect her at all?

Did Julie feel pressured to do so?

Did all of Eric's boys know about this, like a big joke behind Eric's back?

She stopped herself from imagining anything more. Now, she was forced to have a conversation with Julie sooner than she intended. She stood still, not wanting Matt to see her, but her eyes followed him to the register and then out the door.

On the drive home, she thought about how to approach this conversation. She was petrified, but Julie needed to be educated. She needed to know her stance on it, even if Julie was too young to agree with her right now. She needed Julie to understand what something this monumental meant. Her mother did not give her that courtesy and she didn't want Julie to ever feel the way Doug Odom made her feel at fifteen years old.

-

When Eric opened the door to Applebee's, he found Buddy sitting at the bar nursing a beer and looking a little sullen. As Eric took off his jacket and placed it behind his chair, Buddy held his finger up to order Eric a beer.

"I hope to the good Lord almighty in heaven that you have a damn good reason for me to be here. You couldn't even begin to imagine what I'm…"

"Take it easy Eric. I need something in my stomach and about two more of these…"He pointed to his pint of beer. "…before I get talking."

Eric took this as a sign to back off a bit, knowing whatever Buddy was about to say was big. Buddy was always pretty direct with him. That's what Eric liked about him. He was direct and there was typically no bullshit with him.

After downing his second beer, Buddy started talking. "Eric, you're my friend, right? I can talk to you about anything, right?" Buddy's eyes met Eric's as if was trying to get a read on if Eric could keep this secret.

Eric held his stare, and nodded.

Yeah, well…" Buddy knew he could trust him. "I'll just put it point blank." He didn't dare look at Eric, ashamed of what he was about to reveal. "I strayed outside my marriage."

Eric couldn't keep the look of disgust off his face. Buddy cheated on Pam. Pam? Eric questioned how that was possible. Pam was sweet and kind and put up with all of Buddy's faults. How could he do that to her?

"I mean… the problem is…." Buddy continued. "…now she thinks it's more than it is."

"Nah-ah. Nah-ah." It was all Eric could formulate. He started to look anywhere but at Buddy.

"Yeah."

"No. No, I'm saying Nah-ah. I don't want to know who it is. I don't want to know anything about it." The words came out so fast because Eric really wanted Buddy to shut the hell up. The less he knew the better.

"I mean we had a wonderful time." Buddy continued.

"Don't!" Eric was shaking his head back and forth, trying to block his voice out.

"She's a wildcat, you know what I mean." Eric continued to shake his head, not wanting Buddy to think he condoned this one bit. "But it's just…I can't… She just…"

"Keep your voice down."

"I may have said some things in the heat of passion. You know, I may have said I am unhappy in my marriage in some ways, but…"

This got Eric's attention because he spun around and looked at Buddy this time like he was crazy. How the hell could he say that to a strange woman? "You know how it is?" Buddy begged of Eric to understand.

"No Buddy, I don't know how it is."

"Well that's not the only problem. She also…she works for me."

Eric gave him another incredulous look. Eric couldn't believe how stupid he was. Not only did he cheat on his wife, but with a woman who is in his everyday life? A million thoughts swirled through Eric mind.

"I know. I know." Buddy interjected, trying to pull Eric out of where his mind had drifted. Eric looked away from Buddy and over his left shoulder behind him. He didn't want to be a part of this conversation, but if he had to be, he wanted to make sure nobody he knew was in the restaurant that could possibly overhear Buddy's confession. "Hey, Eric? I'm a weak man."

Eric spun back around to face him. "You're a stupid man."

"No, I'm a sinner. I'm just looking for a little guidance here, just a little advice, is all I'm asking." Buddy trusted Eric because Eric had the ability to make sound decisions. He was well-grounded and knew how to deal with stress. Plus, it helped that Eric was in a healthy marriage.

"You want some advice?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Number one…" He looked around again and lowered his voice before facing Buddy and holding his stare. "…you need to tell this woman, whoever the hell it is, and I don't want to know, that under no uncertain terms that it's over. Number two, you need to go home and take care of your wife and think about those kids of yours." Eric got up off the bar stool. "That's all I go to say!" He grabbed his jacket from behind the chair. "I'll let you cover the bill."

"I got it. I got it." Buddy wasn't expecting Eric to be that direct with him.

Eric walked out of Applebee's and when the fresh air hit him in the face, he took in a long, slow deep breath. All he could think about was Tami. He thought about how he would never, in a million years, do what Buddy just confessed to doing. He knew that as much temptation that had come in and out of their marriage over the years, he would never give in to it. He would never want Tami to hurt in that way. He would never want to ruin the infinite amount of trust they had in one another when it came to the sanctity in their marriage. Of course, fear also played a huge part in all of this. He knew the woman that Tami was and he couldn't predict either way if Tami would have the ability to stick with him if he ever did something so stupid. He wasn't certain that Tami could ever work past something that deceitful, and fear of losing her would never equate to any temptation.

On the drive home, he wondered if the feeling was mutual. He wondered if Tami was ever scared that Eric would leave her if the tables were turned and she cheated on him. He sometimes wondered if Tami needed him as much as he needed her.

-

As the minutes ticked away, Tami waited for Julie to get home from dance. She spent the last twenty minutes on the couch trying to read, trying to calm down, trying to let go of the anger she felt. She wasn't really sure why she was so angry. Her eyes drifted around the room, searching for the answer to how she was going to talk to Julie about this. She looked at the pictures of her little girl, placed on the mantle above the fireplace. Tami laughed to herself, that at one time she foolishly thought that the hardest parts of parenting were behind her. The sleepless nights, the diapers, the carting of crap all over for a simple day out of the house, the stressful firsts of everything. Tami couldn't wait to get past it all, but she never really thought about what was ahead. This was going to be much more trying on her soul.

When she heard the open and shut of the front door, she closed the book and knew she had to say something and say something quick, like ripping off a band-aid.

"Hi." She said, as she watched Julie stride right to her bedroom. She spoke to Julie's back, quickly deciding that being direct was the way to go. "I saw Matt Saracen buying condoms today." It was raw and it was honest.

Julie stopped in her tracks. "Oh."

"You know anything about that?"

"No." Julie didn't dare turn to face her.

"Really? Nothing?"

"Nuh-uh."

Tami wasn't convinced so she chose her next words carefully. She didn't want to hurt Julie, but needed to make her well aware that she knew she wasn't getting the whole truth. "Well, he was either buying them for you or buying them for somebody else." When Julie didn't argue back, Tami knew she was on to something. "I think you better come talk to me."

Julie reluctantly turned around and made her back into the living room. "Okay."

Tami did everything in her power to remain calm. "Are you and Matt Saracen having sex?"

"No." Julie looked away, but Tami fixed her eyes on Julie, willing her to look back in her direction. When she did she continued. "We're thinking about it."

Tami slowly nodded, taking in that tidbit of information. Thinking about it? Again, Tami reminded herself to remain calm. "You're thinking about it. Are you thinking about pregnancy? Are you thinking about sexually transmitted diseases?"

"Well, I mean, obviously. That's why he's buying condoms."

Tami's anger was building. "Oh, I see. So, you're just buying condoms and then when you buy condoms that just makes you ready to make love to somebody?" She was shaking her head, not believing that her little girl had thought about all of this already, apparently discussed this with Matt and she was left completely in the dark. She was no better than her own mother.

"Making love?" Julie said, laughing a bit. She couldn't help but laugh at her mother's choice of words. Making love? Who speaks like that?

"Don't do that! Don't you dare smirk at me right now!" She couldn't stay calm for another second. She was holding back the tears. "I am very upset. You are not allowed to have sex! You're fifteen years old!" She screamed.

"I just…" Julie looked down at the ground, afraid to look her mother in the eye. "…I don't see what the big deal is. It's just one body part going into another."

"No, it's not. It's not just one body part going into another body part." Tami knew too well how it wasn't just that. Sadly, she herself learned that the hard way at fifteen. She could remember the hurt, the embarrassment, the shame she felt. She remembered how long it took for her to move past her stupidity at such a young age. She never wanted her daughter to possibly live that nightmare because she didn't think about something closely enough or care about her actions deeply enough. "And the fact that you think it's just one body part going into another body part makes me real clear on the fact that you really are not ready for this." Tami thought about how differently she felt when she had sex with Eric for the first time, versus her first time with Mo, versus her first time with Doug. She didn't know how to teach that to Julie, but if she could spare her, she would try like hell to do so. "And I need you to be able to hear that. I need you to be able to hear me say that to you."

"I'm listening to you." Julie responded, and she was listening. She didn't fully understand where this was all coming from, but she could respect the fact that her mom cared enough to talk to her about it, whether she agreed with it or not.

"Let me tell you what the big deal is. Let me tell you what can happen. What can happen is that you can be hurt and you can be degraded and you can become hard and you can become cynical and I don't want that to happen to you." Tami's voice started to crack as images of Doug Odom flashed through her mind. Images of him climbing off of her, peeling the condom off, redressing and going back down to the party they were at and pretending that what just happened was not a big deal at all. She didn't want that for Julie. She deserved better. She deserved to be educated about this, something Tami's mother did not do properly. "This is something that's special. It's meant for people who are in love…"

"Okay. I understand." Julie really didn't, but she could sense how important it was for her mother to understand.

"And you could wait!" Tami calmed back down, feeling like she got her point across. "I want you to be able to talk to me about it. "

"Ok. I mean, we're talking, right?"

Tami ran her hands through her hair, and rubbed her eyes, before smiling. She hugged Julie, feeling like she just jumped her first real hurdle. She was proud of Julie, but more importantly, she was proud of the two of them. No, this certainly wasn't going to be easy.

When Tami released Julie from their embrace, Julie didn't look up as she entered a new territory for the both of them. "You're not going to tell Dad, are you?"

"Jules, you know better than to ask me that. Your father and I really don't keep secrets."

"I know, but…" Julie played with her fingers, a sign to Tami that she was extremely uneasy about this. "If this was just about me, that would be one thing, but with Matt being on the team, it is going to make things really uncomfortable for him." Tami considered Julie's request. "Mom, please? We haven't done anything wrong other than attempting to be prepared. Please?"

Tami knew Julie was right, although she hated keeping anything from Eric.

-

It wasn't too much later, that Eric walked through the front door at almost an alarming speed. Tami was in their bedroom at the sink adjacent to the bathroom.

"Tami?"

"In here."

She heard him drop his keys on the kitchen counter and his footsteps drew louder until she saw him enter their room. He shut the door behind him. She noticed a determined look in his eye, and he walked toward her. "Are you alright? How'd dinner with Buddy go?" Tami spun around on the ottoman-like stool they often stashed underneath the counter. She looked up as he put his hands on his hips.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

"You know I love you? Like really, really love you, right?"

Tami slowly stood up, almost afraid to why he was saying this. It wasn't out of the blue for him to use those words, but for him to stand there, almost annoyed, was odd. "Yeaah." She slowly drawled out.

"Okay. Because I do. I need you to know that. I need you to understand that I would never, ever hurt you. I would never risk what we have going on here."

"Okay." She said skeptically.

"This is the part where you tell me you feel the same."

"It doesn't have the same meaning or effect when I'm demanded to say it Eric. You know how I feel about you. After sixteen years of marriage you should have some sort of a clue that I kind of like you." Tami tried to make a joke, but when Eric turned away from her, walking back toward the door, she quickly followed behind.

"Maybe Buddy needed to hear it more." He said at such a low decibel that Tami almost didn't hear him.

She put her right hand on his left shoulder, pulling at him to turn around and face her. "What the hell has gotten in to you?"

"Nothing. It's Buddy. He's got me thinking all sorts of things. Crazy things. Do I tell you I love you enough? You don't question my fidelity, do you? Because I certainly don't question yours. Should I? Should I be more on top of the fact that I know how men look at you? Flirt with you?"

She cupped his face. "What did Buddy say to you?" She was trying to think of a scenario that could have been misinterpreted in some way where she may have flirted with someone, flashed her southern smile. Nothing was coming to mind that would make Eric this crazy. Thoughts of telling him about Matt were pushed far back into the corner of her mind.

"It's what Buddy did. It's what he did to Pam." He knew telling Tami was not betraying Buddy's trust. Buddy had to know he would tell Tami.

"What?" Tami said in disbelief.

"Yeah."

She held his face as she spoke. "I'm not going anywhere. I know you are not going anywhere." She kissed him lightly. "Don't let their rocky marriage rock ours, okay?"

"Okay." He said. He walked away from her. He started taking off his watch as he took a seat on their bed. "I don't understand how he could do that. How he can be so nonchalant about it."

"Who was the woman?"

Eric frowned. Of course Tami would ask that question. "I don't know. I don't want to know. I don't know why he told me."

"What did you say to him?"

"I told him he needed to end it. He had a family that loved him." He stood back up. "I'm going to take a shower. I feel…I don't know, like I need a shower."

She smiled. "Okay."

Before he stepped in to the bathroom, he called back to her. "Don't think I don't know that you are still the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Same." She replied.

-

The next day after school, Eric was walking out of the fieldhouse toward the field. He immediately spotted Julie leaning against the wall on his right. "Hey Monkey Noodle."

"Not here Dad."

He put his binder under his arms and took off his glasses to look at her. "Sorry. What are you doing? Waiting for mom?"

Julie immediately knew from that little exchange that Tami held her word and she didn't say anything about their previous evening conversation. "I'm waiting for Matt. "

"I guess I should have known that."

She smiled. Eric loved to see her happy, even if he wasn't the cause of her smiles these days. "You have been spending a lot of time together – you and Matt."

"Dad, don't start with the…"

"I'm not starting anything." He put his sunglasses on and pulled his binder back out. "Don't hold him up. I don't want him to be late."

"Yes, Dad." she said sarcastically.

As he strutted on to the field, he turned around and there was Matt talking to Julie. His Julie. Matt seemed a bit nervous, his eyes wide. He hated not knowing what was going on. He hated feeling like he had been replaced.

As if that wasn't enough, other factors played into what Tami would later consider contributing to his foul mood. There was all this chatter from his boys and sometimes Eric could make out what they were saying and sometimes he couldn't, but whatever they were talking about, it was directed at Matt. Again, he hoped it had nothing to do with his Julie. Following that observation, Tim's father had resurfaced out of nowhere, antagonizing him as he was trying to run practice. He ran open practices. What more did this community want from him? Walt stepped onto his field, in the middle of practice, questioning his abilities? They were in the damn playoffs. The topper of it all was when Mac informed him that their video camera from the film room was gone, stolen. He later found out Walt was the last one seen in there.

He really didn't need this.

If anyone in this town really knew Eric Taylor, they knew if anything at all, he was direct. That was how he was going to approach this situation. So after going over to the Riggins' household and confronting Walt about it, Tim overheard the accusation and started making a few of his own. He let one of his boys down. He felt terrible about it. He apologized to Tim and left. He didn't even look at Walt because he knew. He knew Walt was guilty, but didn't want to upset Tim.

-

"I'm going over to Lois' tonight."

"Your father is going to be home in a little over an hour. I'm making dinner." Tami knew Julie was at the age where she wanted to be with her friends all the time. "I was hoping we can eat as a family."

The last thing Julie wanted to do was eat. In a few short hours, she and Matt would no longer be virgins. Her stomach was in knots. "I really can't mom. I have this huge test tomorrow." Julie lied.

"Alright." Tami said disappointed. "You want me to drive you over there?"

"She lives around the block. I think I can manage." Julie put on her coat, boots and headed toward the door.

"Be home by 11."

-

"Where in the bathroom is the aspirin?" Eric called to Tami who was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Eric was in the bathroom searching for something to relieve the pounding in his head.

"Look underneath the sink." She called back as she poured him a glass of wine and placed it on the counter. "I poured you some wine. That might help." She called out to him.

Eric bent down, opened the lower cabinets and continued to search. He rustled around, before his hands found a pink plastic bag, which he wished he did not open. He walked out the bathroom door, and needed an explanation. "Hey, were you planning something special for tonight?" He asked, carrying the pink bag into the kitchen.

"Yes, I'm making you a beautiful dinner. I just poured you a glass of wine…"

With Tami's back to Eric, he pulled out a pair of sexy leopard print underwear and held them up for her to see when she turned around.

"…and if you get rid of that headache, you may get lucky darling." She stopped speaking, when she turned and saw what Eric was holding. She knew immediately she was going to have to tell him about her recent conversation with Julie.

"What's this? These yours?"

"No."

"Well, they're sure as hell not mine, so what would our fifteen year old daughter be doing with these?"

Tami recognized the level of anger Eric must have been feeling by his tone. She took a tentative step toward him. "Yeah." She scratched her upper lip, a motion she often made when she was nervous about talking to him about something. "I think I need to talk to you for a second, hon."

Eric put the panties back in the bag, a little sick to think of Julie wanting to wear them. He looked at her expectantly, his mouth hung open a bit in shock.

"I saw Matt Saracen buying condoms earlier this week."

Eric stared at her, blinked and then processed her words. Earlier this week? She knew about this for days? "I'm sorry. Say that again." He commanded.

"You heard what I said."

"Oh, I'd love to hear you say that again."

"No, I'm not going to say that again."

"And you were going to tell me this when?" Eric was pissed. She was their daughter. He had a right to know.

"I talked to Julie about it." Tami became defensive. She understood he was upset, but she felt as hard as that conversation was, she handled it.

"Oh you did?" She did this without him?

"Yeah, I did."

"You did?" He questioned again. His chest was starting to constrict and his feet felt stapled to the carpet. His headache was long forgotten. "And did you also tell her that if he even…" Eric took a deep breath, trying to control his anger. "…touches a hair on her head that she is going to be sent to a nunnery in Rome and then I am going to rip his head off right afterwards."

He was being ridiculous. "Well, no, but what I told her is she's too young and she's not ready and then I tried to make the best case that I could against it."

That was it? She didn't punish her? She didn't lock her in her room? She didn't think to tell him? "Oh, well that's good." Eric replied sarcastically. "It might even help if we get her, her own apartment. Because that's pretty darn stern."

Tami rolled her eyes. She was proud of herself. She was proud of Julie for listening to her. She thought she handled it well. Why was he so upset? "The reason why I didn't consult with you, and why I didn't talk to you about it was because I felt that you might start to freak out…"

"Where is she right now?" Eric always raced to the next play.

"…which is what I think you are doing right now." Tami was right. He was freaking out right now.

"Where is she right now?" He repeated a little more slowly.

"She's at Lois' now, studying."

Eric had a bad feeling. "Wait a minute." Eric walked toward the phone. "What's Lois' number?"

"What? What are you going to do? Check up on her? I told you…"

"I want to make sure she's there."

Tami gave Eric the number and she couldn't help but notice that as he dialed he pushed the buttons a little harder than necessary. Tami leaned against the counter, holding herself steady and hoping Eric was wrong. When the next words came out of Eric's mouth, she felt her stomach drop. "Do you know if she was planning on coming over there?"

He slammed the phone down and turned to Tami, with so much anger in his eyes it almost scared her. "Why don't you find out where our daughter is!"

How dare he say that? That was Tami's initial thought. Why was it her sole responsibility for Julie's actions? She wasn't a single mother. They raised her together. They taught her everything together. Now suddenly that she lied to them, it was her fault? She watched as Eric walked away from her. She wanted to fight with him. She wanted to yell at him for his accusatory tone, but she suddenly thought of Julie and their conversation. A conversation she thought went rather well. Why would Julie feel the need to lie to her after she said she understood where she was coming from?

Tami sat at the kitchen table for what felt like hours but, probably, was only twenty minutes. Her mind was racing with all kinds of scenarios. Eric emerged from their bedroom and took a seat adjacent to her at the table. She could tell from his posture he calmed down a bit, but he had a look of worry across his face. "What time is it?"

Tami looked at the watch and saw it was nine forty-five. Julie wasn't due home until eleven. She half threw, half slid the watch across the table at him. The stress of Julie's whereabouts was only half of what was bothering her. They had over an hour before she walked through that door, and Tami's directness kicked in. "You know, you and I have the exact same amount of experience being parents. We've been doing this job the same number of years, months and days as each other and the truth of it is, we just don't have any control. You know, for the most part, we're just winging it." She stared at Eric, begging him to make eye contact, but he wouldn't. When he was very upset about something, he always looked to the ground. "And you know, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do in this situation.

He finally looked at her for a moment as to say 'I don't know what to do either'.

"But I tell you what…" Tami continued. "…the most important thing to me is that my daughter is able to talk to me. A girl is entitled to that with her mother. My mother used to tell me I was going to go to hell if a guy ever even touched me and you know that didn't work and I'm sure as hell not going to do that to Julie." She looked down at the table, embarrassed by her past a bit. Remembering the things she let herself do with boys because her mother didn't have the decency to have those awkward conversations with her.

Eric looked at her again, knowing the pain she felt when she thought about her teenage years. Eric knew she was talking about the incident with Doug Odom. He looked away from her again. He knew she tried to do what she thought was best for Julie. He didn't have a right to be mad at her for only trying to be better than her own mother.

"We raised a smart, responsible, moral girl. And I have faith in us. And I have faith in her. You know…" He voice cracked at the thoughts invading her mind. "…we have to just let her go." Eric thought about that. He thought about how one day, maybe today, he was going to have to let her go little by little and suddenly something inside started to hurt. He looked deep into her eyes, knowing the only other person in this world who shared this pain was Tami and he didn't want to face it alone. "I'm sorry if I hurt you." He reached for her hand, wanting to hold something to offer him some comfort.

Eleven o'clock came and went.

Midnight.

There was no sign of Julie. At this point, they must have tried Julie a least a dozen times on her cell phone.

Twelve thirty and all Eric was thinking of what Matt was actually doing to his daughter. He quickly got up and moved into their formal living room that they barely used. He paced a bit, looked out the front window for the millionth time and eventually threw himself down on the couch. From this room, he would see the car lights when Julie did eventually come home.

At one in the morning, there was a small piece of Eric that started to worry. He knew she was just testing them, but now his mind started to drift to scenarios of her being hurt in some way. Tami joined him on the couch, their bodies far apart from one another. The tension that had built was like a brick wall between them.

"Why is she doing this?" Eric asked, breaking the silence.

Tami's eyes were wide. "I don't know."

"She doesn't understand the repercussions of her actions." He rubbed a hand over his weary eyes. "She has no idea that what she does tonight will carry with her for the rest of her life."

Tami knew what he was thinking. She knew how hard it was for the two of them to fully open themselves up to one another before they got married. The words they spoke of each other's pasts wounded the other person in different ways.

 _The first time Tami visited Eric in College Station, and they were in the privacy of his own room, Tami could sense Eric was eager to have sex with her. They had been separated for a few weeks and with all the temptations around him, he remained faithful. He made sure to let her know everything that was offered to him in those weeks to explain to her how committed he was to making this work. So as they were fooling around on top of his bed and all of their clothes were removed except for her black lace panty and his checkered boxes, she felt his hardness against her core. It wasn't enough for him and the second she felt him start to pull at the black lace, she grabbed his hand to stop him._

" _Eric, I need for you to stop for a second."_

 _He smirked. "Just for a second?" There was the tone of hope in his voice._

 _She smiled back. "I'm not ready."_

" _Okay." He was disappointed._

" _I'm not 'not ready' because I don't want to." She reached up and kissed him as he still hovered above her. "I do. I really want to share this with you, but I can't because I have to tell you something."_

 _He shifted off of her, onto his side, and rested his head on his hand, his elbow digging in the mattress. "Okay." He said with less disappointment, a bit skepticism and laced with fear._

 _Tami didn't know where to begin. She should have never let months of being together pass and never revealing a key part of her sexual history. "I think we need to tell each other about our pasts. I hate to think about your sexual history, but I also think you need to know a little bit about mine."_

 _Eric rolled onto his back and further from her. "I don't want to hear about you and Mo." It's bad enough I know he had a piece of you that I will never have, but I definitely don't see the point in talking about it."_

 _Tami knew what piece he was referring to and it was her virginity. "I need you to know that Mo was not my first." She saw his eyes widen. "I did not lose my virginity to Mo."_

 _Eric wasn't angry. He would be the world's biggest hypocrite if he got mad. He was just surprised. He thought he knew everything there was to know about Tami._

 _When she was met with dazed eyes and silence, she whispered. "Please say something."_

" _Why didn't you tell me?"_

" _Because it's not something I talk about, ever."_

" _Did Mo know?"_

" _Yes, for the same reason I am telling you now. He thought I was a virgin, so he assumed I wanted to wait out of fear, but it was more out of fear of being emotionally hurt."_

" _How old were you?"_

" _Fifteen. It was our freshman year." She got up from his bed and grabbed her bra and shirt off the floor, suddenly embarrassed of her nudity as she bared other parts of her soul. "I was a fool."_

 _Eric sat up and watched her tug her shirt over her head, knowing she was clearly upset. "I'm not judging you if that's what you think." He thought of the countless girls he slept with, and knew he was in no position to judge. "I don't necessarily look at my past behavior as foolish, but I'd have to be blind to not see what I jerk I was."_

" _I hate to think of you with anyone else. The fact that you slept with so many girls bothers me, but I knew your history when we started dating. I knew it was going to take time to trust you. But I do. I do trust that you would never hurt me like Mo hurt me. Promise me, that. Promise that you will break my heart the right way and not the Mo way?"_

" _I'm not going to break your heart."_

 _She smiled softly at him. "You probably will."_

 _Eric thought back to this mysterious person. "Who was it?"_

" _What?"_

" _Who as the lucky guy? Because that is how I see him. I see him as lucky. I am jealous of whoever it is. I am jealous of Mo. I hate you shared things with them and not with me."_

" _It's not forever Eric, but I felt I needed to tell you."_

" _Who was it?" He repeated._

 _She closed her eyes, thinking back to the unromantic experience she shared at a fourth of July party she followed him to. "Doug Odom."_

 _He racked his brain trying to put a face with the name._

" _He was a senior when we were freshman. I had the dumbest crush on him and, at the time, I would have done anything to make him like me." Tears pooled at her eyelids. "And I did, but it didn't work. He was a jerk, but it took me a long time to realize that. I thought it was me, that it was something I did." The first tear spilled down her cheek._

 _Eric got up and walked over to where she was standing. He cupped her face, and used his thumb to wipe away that one lone tear._

" _It took a while to get over that I just wasted something that important on such a jerk. And I know you don't want to hear it, but Mo helped me move past that. He helped me realize that I was worth more than what Doug Odom thought I was worth."_

 _Eric pulled away, hating that she was able to still see Mo in such a positive light._

" _So when Mo was able to discount my feelings and cheat for months, it stung. He knew what I went through and he didn't seem to care." She continued. "So I'm sorry if this is a lot to take and I come with more baggage than you probably anticipated, but I can't have sex with you, holding all this back. I'm sorry."_

 _He pulled her into his arms. "I told you months ago, I would wait for as long as you needed. You believe that, right?"_

 _She nodded. She tried to wipe away the makeup that was likely spreading under her eyes. "What about you? Is there anything you think I should know that I may not at this point?"_

" _I think you have a good idea of what my past is like and…"_

" _Now there's something I hate to think about." She interrupted._

"… _but if you want to ask me anything, I will answer as honestly as I can. You might not like what I have to say, but I won't lie. I owe you at least that."_

 _Tami thought about so many things. How many girls had he kissed? How many girls had given him blowjobs? How many girls did he go down on? How many girls did he fuck? Who was his best? Who was his worst? She wasn't sure if the answers to these questions were going to make her feel any better or any worse, so she hesitated. She settled on this. "Is there anything you have with me that you have not had with someone else?"_

 _He was surprised by this, expecting more of name and number questions in terms of his experiences._

" _Like sexually?"_

" _Like anything."_

 _He thought about how to answer this, to make her fully grasp what she meant to him. "You're set apart from anyone else. You're my first in so many ways."_

 _Tami narrowed her eyes, not understanding. "I'm certainly not your first in anything."_

" _The truth is, before you and I started dating, I never saw anything wrong in what I did, how I behaved. I had absolutely no regard for girls' feelings. It was hard to see through the clouds of compliments, the come-ons, the blowjobs, the sex. It was always just offered and I thought I'd be a fool to pass up what I saw as opportunities." He moved away from her, putting some distance between them. He was embarrassed to reveal this about himself. "You're my first."_

 _She looked at him questioningly._

" _For the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to be physical with someone I love. For the first time, I know what the need feels like to want someone so bad that you will take them any way you can, even if there are weeks in between visits. For the first time, I have experienced wanting to give pleasure to someone other than myself because I actually care about their needs too. For the first time, since my first time, I am extremely nervous about having sex. For the first time in my entire life, I am looking forward to actually making love to someone."_

 _She couldn't help but smile. She loved when he said things like that, without realizing how much of an effect they would have on her. "Eric…"_

 _He was embarrassed by her smile. "I know it sounds corny. Those words 'making love' sound so out of touch."_

" _No, they don't." Tami knew what they meant._

" _I finally understand that term and it scares me and excites me all at once. So, if you are not ready, I can wait."_

" _Thank you." It was all she could muster. He completely overwhelmed her. The answer to all those other questions suddenly didn't matter._

Eric explained himself, in case Tami didn't know where he was coming from. "She doesn't understand that every action she takes in this experience will have to be brought into her next experience."

"I know."

"I don't want her to have to work through all of that."

"I know." Tami looked at the clock and sighed. It was one-thirty. "She's fifteen. How many experiences will she have before she gets married? How many men will she have to bring into her married bed?"

"You were fifteen."

"Yeah, but I only brought two into ours. You were younger and let's not even bring up the amount of girls you brought to ours."

"None of them mattered."

"I know that." Tami was long past Eric's wild ways. "I don't want Julie to have to know that."

A few more minutes of silence was followed by the click of front door handle. Tami and Eric sat up immediately. As Julie came face to face with her parents, she was extremely nervous. "Ummm…"

"Are you alright?" Eric was more worried about her than whatever she did. "Are you alright?" He repeated.

"Ummm…."

Tami stood up and walked half way toward her and stopped, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah. Um, I'm fine." She stuttered. "I-I-I'm sorry. And I know I'm late and I know I should have called because that's the whole reason you guys bought me the cell phone and I'm probably grounded for the rest of my life…" Julie rambled. "…but I was with Matt and we fell asleep and…"

Tami's eyes widened at her words.

Julie realized what her mother must have been thinking and quickly explained herself. "And no, no, no, no ,no – nothing like that happened. Not what you're thinking happened because that didn't happen and I swear to you guys that nothing happened." Julie knew that her mother must have told her father her concerns since she was so late. "Goodnight." Julie hugged her mother a little longer than she normally would have. "And, um, yeah, um, thanks for the talk."

Tami nodded, hoping she did well. She hoped her words would resonate with Julie for a long time. Eric got up off the couch and embraced Tami from behind. He kissed the side of her head and whispered in her ear. "Thank you." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. Clearly, you handled it well." He let her go and grabbed her hand. "Let's go to bed. Tomorrow's another day." All Eric could think was that every day as a parent of a teenager was going to be draining.

 _ **\- Please Review. Please don't punish me by not leaving a review because of the lag in my updates. I appreciate every single review that a reader leaves.**_


	18. Extended Families

**Extended Families**

 **Season 1 – Episode #18**

 **Disclaimer:** **This episode was created by Peter Berg and written by Kerry Ehrin, who also wrote episode #4 and episode #12. Recognizable dialogue is theirs, italics are mine.**

 **Guest Reviewers** : Thank you for taking the time to write a review. I hope I can continue in your eyes to integrate the voices of these characters to somewhat match what the creators and writers give us. A shower scene would have been good at that one moment, but I try and save those smutty moments so they don't appear in every single chapter. I wish we got more of it in the show too. Although I wrote about their first time in a previous chapter, there are other moments that always lead to those bigger moments. I am glad you guys enjoyed that.

 **ICanStopAnytime:** I always thought Buddy's infidelity was a bigger story than the writers made it – especially how it affected Eric. The scene in this upcoming chapter shows Eric a little unstable as he is in awe of Buddy and his nonchalance of losing his wife. Ahhh, the back story – we can go on and on about it. Thank you for the kind words.

 **Naguabo:** I think putting Buddy's infidelity in this episode worked really well, even if they didn't explore it the same way I did. Thanks for the review.

 **FNLFAN** : I wanted to transition Eric going from this playboy football player to this head over heels in love sap when it came to Tami. It's a hard transition and I feel like there is so much I can do with flashbacs to bridge that gap.

 _ **A/N: I was completely overwhelmed with the reviews for this past chapter. Yes, "I Think We Should Have Sex", gave us a lot of Tami/Eric moments and it was really fun to play off of them. This next episode did not give us much in the way of Tami and Eric, but I did my best.**_

Eric's jaw hurt. He felt it as he clenched his teeth for what felt like the millionth time that night. It started to feel real. The fact that it was his first year as the head coach of a 5A school, and he was on the verge of taking a broken down team, with the loss of Jason, to the Texas State semi-finals. If he wasn't so zoned in on the game, even he could admit in that moment, that feat was impressive.

One last play. It all came down to his defense.

One final snap. This last play that would determine if he could bring his team to rank as one of the top four in the state.

One Hail Mary pass. Eric saw the ball release.

One spiral in the air. Eric pointed at the defense to back up.

One tip in the end zone. Eric felt his feet move toward the end zone, not even conscious of his movements.

In that moment, he was a hero. He could, if he thought about it long enough, come to the conclusion that he may have just gotten lucky. Not right now. He wasn't going to think about the fact that their offense could have caught the ball. He was going to jump up and down. He was going to congratulate Mac. He was going to embrace Tami. He was going to celebrate what he and those boys have accomplished – just for a moment.

Tami let go of Eric but not before whispering how proud she was of him. She couldn't help but feel that this was an accomplishment for both of them. Eric had dreams and she knew this was the first of many. Chasing a state title as a head coach was going to put him on the map. A map that was very blurry a few months ago, when Eric sat in his office and asked Tami how the hell he was going to go on without Jason.

Time changes everything.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Julie. "I'm going to head to an after-party with Matt. Ok?"

Tami hated these teenage questions that came out more like demands. "Where?"

"It probably will start at the Alamo Freeze. I'm going to go get ready and head out with Lois."

"Be home by midnight, Julie."

"Midnight?" She asked, a little pleased inflection in her voice. "Really?"

"Yeah. Go have fun." Tami gave her an extra hour tonight, knowing what an exciting time it was for Dillon and for the students. She knew Eric would know exactly where everyone was going to be tonight. Plus, after watching Eric so intense, so focused, she planned for her own excitement at home.

After Julie ran toward the school and disappeared into the girls' locker room, Tami waited for Eric in the parking lot. Several parents stopped by to say congratulations and she made small talk. One by one, the cars pulled out of the lot.

Eric usually had to talk to his boys, talk to the media, talk to his coaches. When she saw Mac and Crawley emerge sans Eric, she knew he must be showering. Mac stopped in front of her. "He'll be out soon. I'll wait with you." Mac offered.

"Don't be silly."

"Susan doesn't expect me for at least another half hour."

"Go on. He won't be long."

"You sure?"

"Thanks Mac."

Five minutes later, Eric spotted her leaned up against the side of their car, clad in tight jeans and an even tighter light blue top. _God, she looked good_ , he thought.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and leaned in for a kiss. It reminded her of when he used to do this at his college games before he boarded the bus. She smiled at the familiarity of it. "Good game, Coach."

He kissed her again, briefly. "Can you believe this?"

"I believe in you." She kissed him briefly this time. "You smell good."

"I didn't want to waste any time at home." He finally looked around. "Where's Julie?"

"She went to the Alamo Freeze, and then probably to some party." She lightly pushed him back so she could squeeze away from him and around the front of the car. She grabbed the handle and opened the door. "You know where?"

Eric didn't answer right away. He opened the back door, threw his bag in the back and then took a seat behind the driver's wheel. Tami waited patiently for him to speak again. "I heard the boys talking about going to Riggins' house."

"Oh, great." Tami replied sarcastically.

Eric started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Silence fell between them and Eric knew that was driven my Tami's wandering thoughts. After a stop sign and a hard right, he spoke. "Matt will be with her. We have to trust him." He thought about it further. "We have to trust her." After the previous weekend, they both agreed to give Julie a little bit more freedom, hoping the longer leash would prevent the rebelling she seemed to be doing lately.

"I wasn't the one who ripped a blanket off of them."

He chuckled, knowing his behavior that night was a bit ridiculous. "Well, I wasn't the one who was freaked out about them from the start." He made a left into their development. He looked at her, not wanting to start a fight, especially when he knew where their evening was going to end. "You can never admit that you could possibly be wrong about something."

"What?" She didn't mean for the inflection in her voice to peak, but she was surprised.

"I admit that Matt is probably a good influence on Julie. You were wrong from the beginning."

"You're crazy."

"See?" He chuckled again. "You can't do it. You always said it was a bad call, but then later on you realized that I was right and you were wrong, but…"

Tami wasn't even listening to him as he pulled into the driveway, her eyes glued onto the slumped figure on their front step. "Honey, what is that thing…."

"…you never said that you were sorry."

"…that is on our front porch? What…"

Eric turned his head and followed Tami's eyes.

"It's moving. Can you…" She was going to ask if Eric could see what it was, when realization dawned. A gasp escaped from her mouth.

"Who is that? Damn!" Eric knew Buddy Garrity at his house right now had the potential to ruin his entire night. His fun, fun night with Tami.

"That's Buddy Garrity." Tami's eyes widened. "That's Buddy Garrity." She repeated. "Sitting on our front porch."

"I see it. I see it."

Tami smiled and waved, as a friendly gesture. She couldn't help her southern manners. "Oh no, I wanted to go to bed."

"Shhh." Eric didn't want to Buddy to hear her complain. "Get out and say hello. Get out…"

"Please make him go away."

As Buddy walked over with a smile on his face, Tami slapped a smile on her own. "Hey Buddy."

"The Semis!" He said as he hugged Tami. He released her and shook Eric hand. "Great game, Coach!"

"What are you doing here?" Eric knew the longer he stayed the less likely he was going to get laid.

"The Semis baby!"

"You could have called!" He said, trying to get his point across that he wasn't thrilled to see him.

Buddy's whole disposition changed, putting his hands in his pockets and looking at the ground. "I just, oh hell, Pam locked me out."

Eric was about to say something, but Buddy continued. "She kicked me out. You know how women are about these things."

Eric definitely didn't know how to respond to that. He had no idea how women were about these things. He would never have been as stupid as Buddy to cheat on Tami. He also knew he had to figure out a way to shut Budd's mouth. Comments like that were not going to help his case tonight. He glanced over as Tami and she looked pissed. She sarcastically smiled her sweet southern smile like a double edge sword. "Oh right. Yeah."

Eric looked back and forth between the two, not daring to make a move.

"So, I was wondering if I could just sleep on your couch for a couple nights to give Pam a chance to cool down."

As surprised as Eric was by this request, Tami was shocked. Her wide eyes and open mouth told him so.

"Please?" He begged.

Eric was smart enough to not say a word. He knew it would take a miracle or a biblical act of God for Tami to cool down if he ever betrayed her like that. His nonchalance and the simplicity of a couple days healing this wound sounded ridiculous, even to him. He couldn't even imagine how that sounded to Tami.

Tami spun on her heals, walking toward the house. "You are welcome to stay because it is the Christian thing for us to do. Three days tops and it doesn't mean we are okay with what you did." She unlocked the front door and left it open for them to follow.

When they were in the privacy of their bedroom, Tami was putting on his pajama pants and Eric slipped under the covers in only his boxers. He was still hopeful. She roughly tugged at the covers, clearly annoyed.

"I know you're upset." He started. "For the record, I don't condone what he did. I need for you to know that. I need for you to know that I know what I have in you. I would never jeopardize that."

Tami was flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. "I can't imagine just 'cooling off', as he put it." She recalled Buddy's words and his carefree attitude about losing his wife. "He has no idea what he has done or how he has hurt her."

Eric didn't want to talk about Buddy. He just won the quarterfinals. He wanted to celebrate. He wanted a blowjob. He wanted to have sex with his wife. He wanted something other than a conversation about Buddy Garrity. Eric turned onto his side, draped his right arm over her torso and leaned in to kiss her neck. "I don't really care about Buddy right now." He pecked her neck again. "I care about you." He lightly kissed her ear lobe. "I care about reassuring you that I love you."

"You care about getting laid." There was still the tone of annoyance that carried in her voice.

He laughed that low sexy laugh she loved. His lips trailed lower to her chest, happy that the only material in his way was a tank top. "It was a good game, Tami." He was practically begging. "I worked so hard out there for that win." He moved his right hand to her breast, kneading it with desperation.

"Eric…" She wanted to stop him. She didn't want to have sex with Buddy Garrity in the house.

"You're the one that invited him in." He knew what she was thinking.

She pushed him away, and sat up a bit. "I can't. I just can't." Thoughts of Buddy hearing them invaded her mind.

He wasn't finished. He crawled up to her sitting position and kissed her neck again, recalling their disagreement in the car. "I won't even make you say sorry for his invitation. I won't even make you admit that you were wrong." He whispered as he tried to nuzzle his head in her breasts.

She pushed him off again. "You want me to admit it? Fine, I'll admit it. I hate to be wrong. Thank goodness it rarely happens!" She joked.

Eric finally took the hint and moved off of her. "I don't like to be wrong either, but you know what the difference is between you and me?" He spoke more freely, knowing his words were not going to ruin an already ruined evening. "I can say I'm sorry. I can admit it when I'm wrong."

It was true. Tami could agree with him on that. Eric was always the first one to take ownership of his mistakes. That was what made him an incredible athlete. That characteristic is what made him an incredible coach. He had the ability to listen to others and process their opinions. He was much better than her. She started to soften, but then he opened his mouth. "If it wasn't for me and my abilities to admit my mistakes, you and I wouldn't be together right now."

 _Eric regretted his words. He felt them when he spoke them, but only a day later, he realized how wrong he was. He hurt Tami and he knew she had a stubborn streak. He knew she wasn't just going to let him take those words back._

' _I need some time.' Did he though? Did he really need time away from her? He should have been clearer._

' _I can't do this with you, like this.' He was upset about his injury. He was upset that their future was trashed._

' _I can't live with disappointing you too.' She never said she was disappointed in him. Now that he was able to reflect back on their fight, he knew she never felt that way. When she asked him how much time he needed, his final words sealed their breakup._

' _I need forever. I need to figure out my next move and I can't do that with you hanging on to me.' Why would he say that? He knew that wasn't the case. Tami Hayes was independent. It only took one day for him to realize that she really didn't need him like he thought._

 _When she didn't return his four phone calls that following evening, he thought that maybe she just needed a night or two to cool off. He said some hurtful things that he couldn't take back. He had to explain himself, but would Tami even give him the chance?_

 _The next day he called another four times, leaving message after message with no response. On the fourth day, he left her another message, threating to drive to Houston if she didn't return his calls. With each message came a higher degree of desperation._

 _Sometime during the following week, she left him a message: "Please stop calling me. Please stop leaving messages." She hoped he would just make this easier for the both of them._

 _He didn't. He continued day after day to leave message after message. When she knew he would be in class, she left him another message. "I'm trying to move on Eric. Please let me."_

 _Move on? That was it? What the hell did she mean? It only had been three weeks since he said words he couldn't take back. How could she possibly move on? He couldn't even think about it. He spent so much time being monotonous; he forgot how to be a player._

 _During those first three weeks, his teammates knew Eric was hurting. They knew the massive disappointment he felt now that the NFL was no longer a part of his dream, his plan, his future. They helped him through it with alcohol. During one of those inebriated nights, Eric disclosed to his buddies that he and Tami broke off their engagement. They tried to help him through that part as well._

 _It wasn't lost on Eric that his friends spread it around pretty quickly that he was newly single. Suddenly, if he just let himself, he could be that high school playboy he once was. He could have easily slipped back into that lifestyle, the lonely physical relationships he once deemed as meaningful. All the alcohol in the world couldn't make him go back to that. He thought it would be so easy. He thought he would be able to fuck whoever, whenever. It was possible. It was offered. But he couldn't. Then he thought it was the hump of intimacy he couldn't get over. So, when he was kissing Karlie Ryan in the bathroom of some party and she slid to her knees, he smiled to himself. He thought that maybe, just maybe a good blow job would help him move forward. The sound of the zipper woke him up to the fact that he was never going to get over Tami. "Let me help you forget about her." The tugging of his pants ejected him into his Tami-less future and it scared him._

 _It was almost four weeks with no contact when he drove to Houston. He parked on campus and waited in the quad which was surrounded with mostly education and psychology buildings. At 11:50 in the morning, the front doors to all the buildings opened at once. Classes were switching out as Eric's eyes searched for her. She was easy to pick out with her long strawberry locks and her killer body. His feet felt like cement when she emerged, with two books in her arms, her purse slung over her shoulder and some guy's arm around her waist. He leaned forward to sprint over and find out who the hell she was with. Eric was grateful his feet remained planted._

 _He followed her with his eyes, trying to figure out the scenario playing out in front of him. He couldn't help but notice the guy she was with was the complete opposite of Eric. He had light hair that flowed a bit, kind of like a surfer. He continually brushed his hand through it, and he thought he might vomit when he saw her do it once for him, a little bit of affection in her eyes. He was tall like Eric and had an athletic build. Tami always liked athletes. First Mo, then him and now this guy stole her heart._

 _They were walking toward the meal hall across the quad, and when they were almost out of sight, Eric finally found his footing and rushed toward the front doors, not wanting to lose her – the sight of her anyway._

 _He saw her get on line to purchase food as he grabbed a seat far enough away to observe her actions. Who was this guy? Eric suspected they were more than friends. How far had Tami gone to forget him? Horrible thoughts of Tami having sex with this mystery guy invaded his mind. Thoughts of her going down on him made Eric sick. What had she done when he had done nothing? He made sure not to do anything that would make it impossible for her to take him back. He knew Tami had lines. Maybe that was why it was so hard for him to cross one._

 _She took a seat and he watched her interact while she ate lunch. She didn't seem like her relaxed self. He imagined that if he started to date again, it would be hard to fall back into the comfort that they once shared._

 _After fifteen minutes of watching her, surfer boy took their trays, discarded them and lent his hand to help her out of her seat. As Tami stood up, he felt his insides burn as her eyes caught his and widened. He noticed her get a bit flustered, words flowing from her mouth which he assumed was some sort of excuse as the surfer boy turned to look at Eric._

 _Eric suddenly got nervous. He didn't want to get into a fight. His arm was in sling. He definitely didn't want to get into a fight. He watched Tami accept a kiss on the cheek. Surfer boy walked away and Tami made her way over to him._

 _Eric's legs felt like jelly as he stood. As she got closer to him, he wanted to say so many things, but all that came out of his mouth was a compliment. "You look beautiful."_

 _This seemed to piss Tami off. "Really? That's the first thing you have to say for yourself?"_

" _I-I-I…" Eric stuttered, not knowing why he suddenly couldn't formulate words._

 _She let out a heavy breath, and started to walk away._

" _Tami?" He called._

 _She walked backward toward him. "I'm not going to do this here, in the middle of the cafeteria. If you want to talk, fine, but I'm not going to let you embarrass me here. You already humiliated me once Eric. I won't give you that opportunity ever again."_

 _When they got outside and he caught up to her rapid strides, he finally spoke. "I'm sorry."_

" _Yeah. I got your messages."_

" _I was wrong."_

" _Great." She rolled her eyes. "Are you done?"_

" _No. I'm not done. I realized I'll never be done."_

" _Too late, Eric because guess what? I'm done." She started to walk again, her steps a little fast this time._

" _Where are you going?"_

" _What did you think? You were just going to should up here and I would be thrilled that you have the decency to grace me with your presence?"_

" _It's not like that. I have been trying to get in touch with you every day for almost four weeks. I am trying to make this right."_

" _You can't make it right. You can't." She abruptly stopped and shoved him on his good shoulder. "You can't take something back that's already out there. Your true feelings are out there and I now know what they are."_

" _No you don't." He defended. "I said I was wrong. I'm sorry. I can't live without you. I can't figure myself out without you. I'm nobody without you."_

 _She softened at his words, not as angry with him, but definitely sadder for the situation they were in. "A month ago you were nobody with me." She looked down at the ground, trying to take control of her breathing. When she looked back up at him, he saw the tears in her eyes. "I'm never going to forget what you said. I'm never going to forget how I felt in that moment. You treated me like I was some sort of groupie that was hanging on to your earnings potential, that everything we shared was not real. I wasn't hanging on to you for any other reason than that I loved you and wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."_

" _Loved? You don't love me anymore? Just like that?"_

" _I can't be in love with you anymore. I can't allow myself that when I know the truth. I can't pretend anymore that what we shared was more than me just supporting what you thought was going to be your life."_

" _I was wrong!" He yelled, so loud that some of the lingering students across the quad turned around._

" _Don't yell at me. Don't you dare yell at me."_

" _I'm sorry." He said looking at the ground._

" _I want you to leave. I want you to let me move on. I want you to try and move on, too."_

" _I can't. I won't." Eric put his hands on his hips, staring into her eyes. "I don't know how you can."_

" _You think this is easy for me?"_

" _It looked easy to me. " He countered._

" _Well, it's not. None of this has been easy."_

 _He dared to ask the next question. "Did you sleep with him, Tami?" He thought he was going to be sick. "Did you?"_

" _Eric, that's none of your business. Not anymore. You gave up that right when you tossed me aside for your own ego."_

" _Tami, I'm sorry. I was wrong."_

Eric knew with Buddy in the house, he was not going to convince Tami to have sex. "If I didn't admit my faults, we would have never gotten back together."

Tami looked at him like he was crazy. "If you didn't break up with me in the first, you would have never had to say you were wrong!"

Frustrated with her inability, he rolled over and said goodnight.

The next morning, Eric woke to the sounds of a loud scream and a slammed door. He looked over at Tami who was not in bed next to him. She was already up and brushing her teeth. Julie barged in and demanded answers. Eric was reminded once again that she wasn't his little girl anymore but an angsty teen.

"Do I even need to ask why Buddy Garritty is shaving in my bathroom?"

"Your bathroom?" Tami spun to face her. "When did you buy that bathroom?"

Eric sat up and rubbed his face, and explained that Buddy was going to be staying with them for a few days. As much as Eric hated to lie to Julie and act like this was no big deal, he didn't want Buddy to think he could stay with them forever. He didn't want Buddy to think it was an open invitation, but he also needed Julie to understand that they were helping a friend out.

"Oh, n-n-no! He is not staying a couple of days!"

"I'm not crazy about it either." Tami said, the toothbrush half hanging out of her mouth. "He invited himself."

"Wait, wait! So now you guys just decided this?"

"Quit yelling at me, it's early in the morning." Eric draped his left leg out of the bed.

"I mean, Buddy Garrity in a towel, in my bathroom, shaving." Julie continued with her arms crossed. "He's half naked."

Tami tried to interject, but Eric got up and headed for the door. "You know what the problem is? You women. You women are very dramatic. He wiggled his fingers like he was placing some sort of voodoo spell on them.

Eric didn't want to deal with the yelling. He headed to the kitchen and started making coffee. Buddy eventually emerged from the bathroom, in Panther sweat suit gear and took a seat at the kitchen counter. "Julie seemed surprised to see me."

Eric gave him an annoyed look. "Oh, you think?"

Eric filled the pot with water. As he held the pot in his hand, he looked again at Buddy. "What's your plan?"

"My plan?"

"Yeah, your plan? You know the plan to get your family back, for them to let you in the house. What's your plan?" Eric waited a beat and when Buddy didn't answer right away, Eric grew slightly annoyed. "You have a plan, don't you?"

Buddy drummed his fingers against the countertop. "Pam needs to cool down, that's all."

"That's all?" He turned his back to Buddy, staring at the drips of coffee slowly making their way into the pot. "What do you think? She's just going to forget about what you've done? That's she's just going to pretend like it didn't happen?" There wasn't many times where people stunned him, but this was definitely one of them.

"No?" Buddy asked. When Eric's eyes narrowed in his direction, Buddy knew what his answer was to that. "Well, do you have any suggestions?"

"Suggestions?"

"Sure. Any advice? What would you do?"

Eric impatiently pulled the coffee pot, which was half way filled to pour his cup. He put the pot back and the drip continued. Eric lowered his voice, and gripped the counter feeling sick of the possibility that Tami would ever be that mad at him. "I have no idea what I would do. You know why? Because I would never in a million years do what you did. You are a stupid man."

"A million years, Eric? Really? A million?"

"A damn trillion, Buddy. Do you really understand what you have risked? Do you even care? You come in here, like a few days away from your family is going to make this all go away."

"She'll forgive me. Pam will."

"Well, maybe that's the difference." Eric said, releasing the counter, conceding to the fact that Buddy is not necessarily going to understand. "I would never cheat on Tami because I could never be sure if Tami could ever trust me again. Trust is very big for her. It's big for me too." When Buddy didn't seem to catch his drift, he continued. "No woman and no amount of sex would be worth the risk of losing her. That's it. That's all I got."

"I call bullshit, Eric." He slid a clean mug across to Eric, nonverbally asking him to fill it.

"Huh?" Eric took the mug, turned, and filled it.

"If a gorgeous woman flirted with you, offered you unattached sex…"

Eric interrupted him. "There's no such thing of unattached sex anymore, not at our age anyway."

"…and you had a good idea that Tami would never find out, you wouldn't be tempted?"

"Being tempted is one thing, Buddy."

"Okay. So, you're telling me you would act on it, if you knew Tami would never find out."

"Again, there's another difference." Eric said taking another sip. "I don't need anyone else. I can't say much more than that without embarrassing my wife, so I'll leave it at that."

"I didn't say need. What about want?" Buddy sipped his own coffee.

Just then, Eric heard their bedroom door open. "I don't want or need any of it." He whispered in case Tami was approaching. "You better figure out what the hell you are going to do because you can't stay here forever."

Something happened that afternoon that Eric had been waiting for his entire career. All it took was one phone call for Eric to leave his office in a hurry.

College.

TMU.

Dinner.

They were interested in him.

He couldn't wait to share this with Tami. He was not the type to let excitement show. He never showed his feelings. It's what made him speak so well to the media. It made him an excellent poker player. But he was excited. He and Tami have been dreaming this dream ever since their NFL dream died all those years ago.

When he walked through the door, he immediately smelled something delicious and heard the sizzling of the frying pan.

"Hello?" Tami's voice called when she heard the door open.

Eric walked slowly down the hall not saying a word, in fear Buddy was present. The last thing he needed was Buddy to know this news.

"I'm in here making pork chops." Tami voice dripped with aggravation.

"Yahoo." Buddy voice came from the living room. When Eric turned in that direction, there was Buddy lying back in his recliner.

When he turned back to Tami, he could sense the annoyance she was feeling. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" He was hoping she would catch his drift and understand he wanted to talk to her in private.

"Mmmhmm." She threw an annoyed look back at Buddy before following Eric down the hall and eventually out the front door. Once outside, she went off like a firecracker. "Honey, he is driving me crazy. He went and bought a whole bag of groceries."

"Shhhh." He wanted to get it out. He needed to get this out.

"He's making me make him…."

"Stop. Wait a second. Relax. Shh."

"…porkchops. He's pushing us out of our own house."

He cupped her face and she responded with a frustrated, "What?"

He took a deep breath, lowered his voice and gave her the good news. "Neil Kenny, the athletic director over at TMU called this afternoon. He and his wife would like to have dinner with us this evening to talk about the future."

"The future?" She knew what this meant although she was shaking her head in disbelief. "Our future?"

"You busy tonight?"

A smile spread across her face. "No, I think I'm free."

"We'll say it's a date then?"

She leaned in and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him. She brought him to her tightly. "Oh, that's amazing. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, babe." He loved making her proud.

"What are we going to do about Buddy?"

"The last thing I am thinking about is Buddy right now. I have no idea what I am going to say to this man that speaks to level of how badly I want this."

She pulled back to look at him. "Come on, now. Your passion for this game will speak volumes."

"You want this too, right? I know that this has been a dream of mine ever since my injury. But for you? It's dream for you too, right?"

"My dream is for you to be happy."

He kissed her lightly. "That's funny, because that's my dream for you."

After telling Buddy they were going out for dinner, just the two of them, they retreated to their bedroom. Eric sat on the bed, pulled out a yellow legal pad and started jotting down notes. He often did this before talking to the press or before a big meeting. His thoughts, ideas and opinions always filtered through his mind better once they were on paper in front of him.

She knew him well enough to know not to bother him during this process. She went into their bathroom and turned on the shower. The hot water felt good against her skin and she couldn't keep the smile off her face as she thought about Eric and college ball. She let the hot water relax her, but when she closed her eyes and dipped her heard backwards under the pressured water, a wave of cool air hit her and she quickly opened her eyes.

Before her stood a naked Eric with admiring eyes and a cool smile. He stepped one foot in and paused. He couldn't help but look her up and down. His eyes fell first on her breasts, but eventually trailed lower to her most intimate of areas which she always maintained in the sexiest of ways.

"Well, are you getting in or out?"

"In."

"Good, because you're letting all the cold air in."

He stepped in all the way and captured her lips with his. He kissed her softly at first, but her naked form was almost too much for him and he quickly deepened their kiss. His tongue searched for hers as he pushed her lightly so she would take a step backwards. The cold tile against her back startled her and she gasped.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry." He kissed her again and wrapped his arms around her. "I want you so bad right now." He pushed his hardened groin against her thigh.

She arched an eyebrow, knowing better. "You just need me right now because you're nervous."

He bowed his head and spoke to the porcelain under his feet, watching the water run down the drain. "Maybe."

She reassured him with another kiss. "You have nothing to be nervous about." She used her pointer finger to lift his chin, wanting his eyes to meet hers. The water trickled down his face as he stared into her deep blue honest eyes. "They reached out to you. They are interested in you. They see what I see." She kissed him and leaned further into her, his manhood right at her entrance. She gripped his shoulders for balance, knowing what was about to come next.

"Oh yeah? What do you see, Tami?" He felt a tear forming at the corners of his eyes, the moment of her raw honesty melting him right there under the warm cascading water.

"I see you truly passionate about a game that is not just a game to you." She took a sharp breath in as she felt his tip against her folds. She whimpered, but formulated the words he desperately needed to hear. "I see a person who is about to catch his dream." He pushed into her slowly, inch by inch. She lifted her leg, wanting more, urging for more. He hooked his forearm under her knee, but pulled out completely. "I see someone who is deserving."

He slammed back into her and she moaned loudly. She held still, wanting to make sure she heard his words. "You have always been a big part of this dream. Always, Tami. "I couldn't do this tonight without you."

After their intense round of lovemaking and a shower, she was stood in front of her closet wondering what to wear. She thought about Eric's words in the shower and couldn't help but smile to herself.

He was so wrong. He could have gone without her tonight. She was grateful that he didn't want to go without her, but he was forgetful. He did these types of things without her in the past. Had he forgotten?

" _I got in." Tami said, making her way into his off campus house, waving a white paper in her hand._

 _He looked up from the kitchen table, littered with paper plates and empty beer bottles that have been there for God knows how long. "Got in to what?"_

" _Middlesex in London." She couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Eric, can you believe this? I am going to get to spend the 6 weeks this summer in England."_

 _Eric's mind was racing. He was trying to recall the conversation they had a few months ago about this. She said she was going to apply, but he also remembered expressing his concern over the fact that this was the summer before their senior year. He was going to be contacted all summer long by NFL recruiters. This was the summer they were supposed to decide their future together._

" _What are you talking about? You can't go away for 6 weeks!" Eric pushed his chair back so he could stand._

" _Um, yes I can and I am." She said, her eyes widened in disbelief._

" _No, you can't. This summer we are going to have to decide where we are going to live. This summer we have to meet with front office guys to weigh our options."_

" _Well, you're going to have to do that on your own, Eric. You don't need me to hold your hand."_

" _I didn't say my options, Tami. I said our options."_

" _Don't you want a say in our future? Don't you want to figure all this out together?"_

 _She walked passed him and toward the fridge and grabbed a soda. "I trust you Eric. It's not like you are going to sign anything until any official offers come in and that won't be until the fall."_

" _How can you not care about this? How can you be so flippant?"_

" _Flippant?" She asked. "Flippant? How about annoyed? Maybe even pissed."_

" _Don't turn this around on me."_

" _How about 'Congratulations Tami' or 'I'm so happy for you Tami'." She countered._

" _I'm not going to lie about how I feel about this. I don't want you to go. I don't expect you to take off for six weeks so you can party while I am making decisions for our future."_

" _Who said anything about partying?" She couldn't believe he was getting like this. "I got the opportunity to live abroad and experience a different culture. I have wanted to do this since I moved to Houston."_

" _How can you be so irresponsible? How can you expect me to do this on my own?"_

" _You're a big boy, Eric. Figure it out."_

He did just that. He figured it out on his own. He made a list of what he liked, what he thought she would like and how those lists overlapped. After all these years, he still was unsure of himself without her, and that amazed her.

There was one person that certainly wasn't happy about being left alone with Buddy this evening. Tami was trying to put out the fire as Eric took his sweet, sweet time in the bathroom. "You are seriously not expecting me to stay home alone with Buddy Garrity?" Julie asked. "Are you even comprehending the depths of awkwardness?"

Tami pulled a necklace out of her drawer and held it up to examine if this was the right necklace for this momentous dinner. She was barely listening to Julie go on and on. "Listen to me." She made her way over to the mirror to put in her earrings. "This is a very important dinner. It is very important to your father. It is very important for his career. His career is what pays for all the things you like for him to buy for you, that you ask for. You don't have to sit down and have popcorn, watch movies with him."

"Mom…" Julie made the best argument, but Tami was not giving in.

Finally, Eric emerged from the bathroom. "Hey, I heard everything your mother said. Listen to her, she is always right. We have to go."

It wasn't often Tami and Eric ate in white clothed restaurants. It's not like they particularly avoided them. Combined, their salaries were much higher than the Dillon average. They just never had time. Tami couldn't help but think that maybe they just _thought_ they never had time.

When they pulled into the parking lot and Eric turned the key in the ignition, he kept both hands on the steering wheel staring forward into the darkness of the evening. Tami leaned over and pulled the keys out for him. "Babe?" She questioned.

"Hmm." He kept his eyes forward.

"Everything is going to be fine." When he didn't turn his head toward her, she asked, "What are you so worried about?" When he didn't answer, she could tell he was struggling with words. "Whatever happens in there, won't change a thing in here. You know that, right?"

He looked at her, his eyes a little glassy from the emotion that was taking over. "I know that. "

"Good. Show them your passion that I see in what you do every day."

They got out of the car and quickly wrapped one arm around her waist as they walked to the front door of the restaurant. She kissed her temple. "I swear you will never know how much your support means to me."

In the end, Tami was right. There was nothing to be nervous about. This wasn't a job interview. This wasn't an opportunity for Eric to show them who he was or what he was capable of. They already knew. They were aware. They saw his passion, just like Tami said they would. She really was always right.

 _ **Please review. Please don't make the lapse in time I created in between updating chapters to discourage the reviews. My apologies once again.**_


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